Fighting Demon
by Airheaded dude
Summary: Keitaro had a different past, had a different view in his life and held many of those dear, but circumstances have swallowed him whole and his personality was forever changed, until it was sealed. Two years later... It all returns to him.
1. The Asura

New story! I just hope you guys like it! My first time to crack a LH fic so here's a shot!

Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: The author of Love Hina is Ken Akamatsu all copyrights belong to him and this is only for fan purposes

Chapter One: The Asura

A cloud of smoke floated on the top of the Hina coffee shop. Haruka had lit and puffed one of her most cloudy hits that day. Looking at the letter at her table, she sighed. Today was the day, her neph- no, her relative was coming to Hinata sou.

'_Damn it, __grandmother, what were you thinking?' _Thought Haruka puffing another smoke from her already halved cigarette.

Granny Hina had left her a note, should he be arriving late, Haruka would know what to expect.

And expect she did, a few seconds later, she had heard one of the most horrifying screams from the inn turned dormitory above. Haruka exited the shop through the front door, and a rumbling noise could be heard, followed by a vibrating ground that sent pebbles flying around

'_Not good.'_ Haruka clenched her teeth and ran to the inn as fast as she could, if they could only guess what her relative was capable off…

Hinata Inn:

Keitaro was cornered between a rock and a hard place, last time he knew, Hinata was an Inn and not a dormitory, last time he knew, the hot springs had dividing lines to separate the males from the females. Last time he knew, Hinata was a completely well maintained home, not your run of the mill, shmuck infested structure. Looking at his surroundings, he couldn't help but cringe at the pot holes, rusty pipes, and termite infested wood on the old pleasant inn.

Apparently, the Last times his knowledge supllied him about Hinata was that it was over ten years ago.

Keitaro prayed to whatever God was out there to have mercy on his soul for a quick and painless death. He never thought that a life of a Toudai Student was so short.

Yes, Keitaro was a student of Toudai, he graduated average on his highschool but did exceptionally well in his first entrance exams, taking advice from an old friend of his. He pursued a career in Mechanical Engineering and was doing well on his course.

As Keitaro felt his life flashing before his eyes, he immediately knew he was going to die…

A punch that could create small craters, a punch that could crush someone's skull, and now, a punch aimed to rectify and justify the actions of a deviant.

Naru's rage was focused on her slug aimed at the boy who was cornered, the pervert who had the balls to raid on the inn and took a bath in the onsen and peek at her, all of it made Naru so infuriated at the man in front of her, that the punch that she would dish out was definitely not one to give mercy.

POW!

The fist connected to Keitaro's face, as he felt his jaw being shattered by the vicious woman's strength, and being flown off to the outside of the inn. Naru, not one to let up just yet, chased after the human projectile as he skidded on the entrance of the inn, on the ground laying motionless

Motoko Aoyama came out, her sword drawn at the man before her, with Naru at her side clenching her fist making a cracking noise that made some of the women wince inside the inn.

"You idiots!"

A voice came from the stairs, the women turned around and immediately saw Haruka running as if her life depended on it.

"Haruka-san, what are you talking about?" Asked Motoko, who had then suddenly felt a surge of Ki enveloping her. Turning around, she found that the man that was sprawled on the ground half dead was standing up and looked like a dead person that just came back to life.

"Woah, that's some pretty scary look on his face… Just what in the hell were you talking about Haruka?" Asked the silver haired beauty.

"I'm talking about that… He's my relative" Haruka then pointed to her neph- relative as more ki was being generated at an astonishing rate

"You see… Keitaro isn't what you would call a normal male." Said Haruka and immediately, Keitaro began to speak amidst his bloddy forehead

"The hell? Why the fuck am I in Granny's place!? Haruka!? Haruka!? Where in this shit hole are ya!? And where the hell is my Hog!?"

"See what I mean?" Haruka sighed…

"Why the hell is my forehead bloody!? And why the hell am I wearing these dorky piece of eyewears!? Why in the hell am I here in the first place!?" Said the man his confusion flustered along with his ki, started to force some of the inhabitants in Hinata Sou. Keitaro then threw his eyewear and immediately fell on the ground a bit dizzy

'_The world's spinning!'_He felt that the lunch that was in his stomach was starting to well up

"Is that pervert feigning ignorance or something?" Naru inquired

"No, and before I ask a question, it'd be best to back down now. That guy that's once mild mannered and an introvert is gone." Said Haruka

"What? You're not making any sense Haruka-san!" Said Motoko

"About two years ago, when Keitaro was only a senior highschool student, he was a complete delinquent." Said Haruka

"So?" Naru had questioned

"It's not that he wanted it, he was forced to do it, eventually, in time, his circumstances swallowed him. His whole personality changed, he stopped from being lax about his training in Shoto Ryu Karate, to being a master just to defend himself from the onslaught of his enemies." Haruka then extinguished the smoke by stepping on it and sqeezing it on the ground… Hard. A frown escaping from her lips.

"It started with small backyard school brawls, fistfights. Then it became more dangerous, gangs and thugs were after his head. And they wanted him more than just beat up or completely paralyzed, they wanted him dead." Haruka slowly approached the man

"In time, he created and perfected a style in the mindset that he will only defend both himself and the weak. He used violence against violence. He became dangerous to anyone that dared cross his path, leaving them almost near the state of death." Said Haruka who then felt her own Ki fluctuate

'_Such power coming out of both these combatants.'_ Thought Motoko, as Naru immediately charged

"No Naru! Wait!" Haruka tried to stop the impulsive ill tempered woman but to no avail, Keitaro who had regained his balance stood up and saw something blurry catching up to him. He breathed out some air in his lungs and immediately, an invisible thin lining of ki enveloped his small area in a circular motion

"Seikuuken! (Mastery of the air)"

Immediately, the punch crossed the barrier, But Keitaro deflected it by waving his arm in a circular motion, reducing the power of the punch.

"Wha!? That man neutralized Naru's wickedly strong punch!" Motoko stood in awe as the process was repeated again and again. But this time, when Naru punched him, Keitaro completely deflected the blow by parrying it and grabbed her wrist. Keitaro then pulled her closer and tapped her forehead forcing ki throughout her body, weakening her and landed on the ground hard

"Why'd this bitch tried to hit me all of a sudden!? Huh!? Haruka! Where in the bloody hell are you!?" The man utterly screamed

"I'm right here ya big goof." Haruka said and Keitaro turned his head over to the source of the voice and squinted his eyes

"Goddamnit Haruka! What'd I tell you about putting glasses after the seal activated!?" Yelled the temperamental man and Haruka sighed

"If I remember correctly, your exact words were _'After this seal activates, I better not be some fucking nimrod wearing stupid eyewear, it makes me nauseous'_ nephew." Said Haruka, a smirk forming on her lips

"Damn straight I did! Now what the hell forced me to wear such revolting piece of accessory?" Asked Keitaro slowly forming into a stance

"Don't know… Why don't you ask Granny Hina, dork?" Haruka stifled a laughter as a vein formed at the back of Keitaro's head

"You're lucky I love both you and grandma even I specifically requested you guys not to do it!" Keitaro was about to charge when he felt a sudden shift in ki that permeated his invisible wall.

"Iwazanken! (Rock Splitting Sword)" Motoko yelled as the blast of volatile ki was sent at Keitaro. Keitaro merely oustretched his hand as the ki approached him and opened his palm…

"Seikuuken: Kiyome! (Mastery of air: Purification)" The surge of ki blasted from his palm, circulated into a furious vortex that absorbed the attack, slowly, the ki generated attack from Motoko began to vanish, effectively being neutralized with Keitaro still holding out his hand

"That wasn't a very smart move Motoko." Said Haruka and immediately, Motoko began to see why.

As soon as Keitaro deflected the attack and saw the blade, his body reacted on instinct and moved to a new stance, raising his left arm and flexing it, he opened his palm with his right hand crossing his mid-torso and opened as well, his features darkened and a glint in his eyes was all that Motoko needed to know as the ki that was as gentle as wind, changed into a torrential wave of wild rapids of water.

'_This sudden change in ki manipulation, only a real master of martial arts can do this!' _Thought Motoko as Keitaro remained at his position and breathed out

"Anytype of weapon would be useless against him, remember when I said about those gang members and thugs after his head? Well, Keitaro was always in constant danger from them, if it wasn't knives, it was guns and if it wasn't guns, it was katanas. So he devised another martial art principle, basing it from Shoto Ryu Karate and the traditional Urashima Ryu Ansatsu Hi Ken (Urashima style, Killing Sun Fist) perfecting it, he created a martial art to counter weapons, becoming an anti-weapons specialist, he named it…"

"Suigetsuken (Moon Water Fist)" Keitaro maintained that stance and the ki around him violently crashing down, began to abruptly circulate around him. Motoko, not one to back down rushed towards Keitaro, bent on bringing the man down. Keitaro saw Motoko vanish from his line of vision and felt her at the side, sliding his left foot to his left, he felt a force opposing the sweep so he forced his own leg with his arms swinging in the same direction, Keitaro caught Motoko's hand and forced his right thumb on her wrist, pressuring the radial artery and forcing Motoko to drop Shisui and falling down because of the leg sweep butt first.

Landing on her bum, Motoko viewed the man that had defeated her without so much as a sweat, she looked up and saw that the man still had the same stoic face when fighting, but after a few seconds, his normally frown, pissed to look at face returned and then the man glanced down to her

"Next time you want to face an anti-weapons specialist, you deal with them by not getting close to them or them not getting closer to you." Said Keitaro and Motoko felt an overwhelming sense of shame after being defeated by a male. A kind she deemed inferior

"Enough riff raff, kid, let's just get this over with…" Said Haruka who charged at him. Keitaro smirked as he resumed his Seikuuken stance

Haruka then aimed at him for an uppercut, Keitaro dodged it with ease and countered Haruka with a kick with his right foot to Haruka's back. Haruka then countered that move by flipping her body and corkscrewed in midair. Landing on the ground in all fours, she jumped up and aimed a knee to Keitaro's face.

Not one to be outdone, Keitaro blocked the move when he turned around and raised his left leg and stepped on Haruka's knee making the move ineffective. Keitaro jumped and used a summersault to get behind Haruka.

Haruka immediately turned and blocked the punch that was aimed at her. Haruka smirked as she grabbed hold of Keitaro's outstretched hand, she pulled it closer and positioned his elbow on Keitaro's chest. Haruka grinned and positioned her vacant hand on her fist and gathered the appropriate amount of ki and then slamming it on her fist

"Shinryuga! (Dragon God Fang)" An enormous amount of ki was blown out of Haruka elbow that forced a mighty blow on Keitaro's chest sending him flying to the nearest tree.

Keitaro regained his senses and backflipped landing on the trunk he forced his legs to crouch and jump, the tree trunk, was completely reduced to splinters. Keitaro grinned even with a bloody mouth as he gathered his own ki at his right hand.

"Oh shit!" Haruka cursed loudly as she got the hell out of dodge

Keitaro unleashed the volatile energy at his right hand and stopped one inch closer to Haruka

"Raikohou! (Lightning Cannon)" The wave of energy was released and consumed all in its path, with sparks of electricity coming out of his fists and the surrounding area

"Still careless about the techniques I see…" Haruka mentioned and Keitaro's smirk was immediately replaced with a frown as he gave his relative a dirty finger

"Like hell Shinryuga wasn't a careless part to you! I could've died from cardiac arrest! You were aiming for my friggin' heart!"

"Yeah but I knew you could've survive it, where as I, a frail, dainty, beautiful, and overly sexy young woman would've been torn to shreds by Raikohou." Haruka grinned when Keitaro was at boiling point

"You like pushing my buttons don't ya, Haruka?" Asked the annoyed man

"Of course, you would never try to hit a girl, unless of course, it was either me, grandma, Konoka and Tsu-"

"All right, all right! I know! Geez, fine, no more spars! Now if you could tell me what am I doing here, and how did the seal break?" Keitaro sighed in exasperation as he and Haruka went down to the café

"Woah, those two are unbelievable…" Said Kitsune, as she walked over to the fallen two women

"You two alright?" Asked the foxy lady

"A bit hurt in the pride department, but otherwise, fine." Said Naru standing up, there was no pain in her body but her muscles felt like jelly, she couldn't properly support herself.

"Just what the hell did that pervert do to me anyway?" Screamed Naru frustrated that she couldn't move as she found it hard to even lift her finger

"It's called Jyakutaiha Myaku (Weakening Pulse) it's a harmless technique that forces someone's ki to hyperactivate the body's metabolic rate, consuming so much energy that the victim would feel extreme fatigue when they normally won't. It's a master's degree technique since it's dangerous if it wasn't controlled properly. If he didn't have that kind of control, you would've been in a deep coma, Naru-san." Said Motoko as she stood up and grabbed Shisui by the hilt, all the while, frowning as she thought of one thing

'_Still not enough… Still not enough' _Motoko then sheathed her sword and went about on her way to her own training

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm a bit curious when that guy said something about a seal." Said Kitsune

"Seal? What's a seal? Does it taste good?" Asked the oblivious tan blonde with a smile on her face and her pet at her head

"Aaauuuu… Is he, going to be okay?" Asked Shinobu as she looked on

"Don't know… But it's better to eavesdrop to find out right?" Said Kitsune, her smile forming at the curb of her lips.

Café:

"So that's what happened eh?" Keitaro had to hit his head on the touble not once, but twice, thrice and preferably, more times over

"Oi, brain dead, you wouldn't want to kill your already expiring head now would you?" Asked Haruka seeing that Keitaro's forehead was starting to bleed

"Shut up, _Aunt _Haruka!" Keitaro smirked at his insult only to be hit with a giant fan on the head

"What'd I tell you about calling me Aunt?"

"Then don't call me stupid or any other such lines!" Said Keitaro

Keitaro humphed and looked at the paper again, no matter how much he tried to deny, Granny Hina wanted him to inherit the inn, more precisely the dorm, what he didn't know was what the hell cooked up in his beloved grandmother's mind!

"So how did the seal break? Wasn't it supposed to be like… I don't know… Forever!?" Keitaro exclaimed sarcastically

"No, it was meant to trigger when you experience any head trauma. It was a back up plan in case danger started to rear its ugly head without your bodyguards around."

"What was your nickname again in the underground world?" Asked Haruka

"Onitsume, Ashura, Asura... Anything that pertains to a fighting demon." Said Keitaro who continued to reminisce about his past

"Bodyguards? Oh yeah, I remember defeating a Yakuza boss once, all his members all bowed to me right?" Keitaro hit the palm of his hand. The others who were eavesdropping outside swallowed their saliva whole, except for the oblivious Su

"Yes, and you are now the leader of an underground syndicate, those girls were lucky they weren't gunned down and even more lucky that the Yakuza boss was a man of honor." Said Haruka lighting up a cigarette

"Back to the topic, the seal on the base of your neck was to be broken if you could experience any head trauma. Granny Hina knew dangerous people were after you, so she wanted to have a backup plan, all the elders agreed on this one, and thanks to you, all of the Urashimas right now are enjoying an early retirement with business plans." Said Haruka

'_Oh yeah, Yakuza boss and all'_Keitaro thought, scratching the back of his head

"But why? Everyone knew my request… Why didn't you guys respect it!?" Said Keitaro as he clenched his fist and frowned

"Because it was detrimental to the clan, we knew your desire for not fighting, but we also knew if you don't teach your style to the next generation, our tradition and style would die out, you have seen what happened to the countless martial arts schools in the past didn't you?" Asked Haruka and Keitaro nodded

"Then I need no more explanations, now as for what you wanted to know the most…" Keitaro perked up and nodded, a huge grin plastering on his face

"Yeah, yeah?" Eagerly, Keitaro was at the edge of his seat.

"Come with me, Granny Hina said that she would feel awful if she threw away your hog." Said Haruka and Keitaro followed

"Hog? Is it a pig? Does Keitaro have a pet or something?" Asked Su

"No Su-chan, a hog is in biker terms, a motorcycle. It's a very… Crude way of putting it." Said Kitsune watching on the next window, her jaw hit the ground

Seeing the motor bike, it felt like Keitaro really was a delinquent, the Low rider Harley was there for everyone to see and admire, and it was customed by Keitaro himself, seeing this, Keitaro's smile reached from ear to ear as he rushed to the bike and screamed…

"My baby!" Said Keitaro and hugging the area of the gas tank rubbing his cheeks along the leather seating

"I see you still have your obsession for vehicles." Said Haruka and Keitaro nodded

"You bet your boots I do! And once I finish my course, and have a job, I'll get to buy all my dream cars and park it near the beach for everyone to notice!" Keitaro beamed proudly and Haruka shook his head, still the same boastful goofball

"Now that I think about it, I really feel smart these days Haruka, is this the effect of the seal being broken?"

Haruka nodded

"Thought so… Oh well, as long as I'm happy, who cares! Now all the problem that's left is how I'm going to break the news." Said Keitaro as Haruka smoked another cigar

"Good luck with that." Said Haruka and Keitaro pointed at him

"Oi, you aren't helping out a relative!? What if they beat me up there!?" Said Keitaro and Haruka laughed

"You? Get beat up by a bunch of wimps and martial arts wannabee's? You're making me laugh right?" Haruka was stifling her laughter while Keitaro looked annoyed

"No, I was serious! I seriously can't hit a woman!" Said Keitaro and Haruka dragged him by the collar kicking and screaming

"No! Let me go, Haruka! Don't make me go! I don't to die young yet! I don't want to die a virgin! C'mon Haruka, have mercy on me!" Said Keitaro

'_Oh shit!'_ Kitsune inwardly cursed as she gestured for the women to move out.

End!

Well that about wraps it up for now… Will update sooner though


	2. Chaos Begets

Chapter 2: Chaos Begets

"Let go of me, Haruka! Damn it! I'm fucking serious here!" Urashima Keitaro screamed as the back of his collar was dragged with his hands and feet bounded by ropes and talismans

"No. You're the one that Granny Hina trusted, you take the responsibility." Haruka yelled aggravatingly as she saw her nephew somehow escaping from the collar hold bit the ground with his teeth trying to force his way in the opposite direction from the inn

"You're being a brat Keitaro. Normally, any man would willingly accept this opportunity." Haruka said grabbing Keitaro by his legs and started pulling the man

"But I don't even know how to handle an inn! Let alone a woman! Now granny wants me handle a girl's dormitory!? Come on! This is seriously fucked up!" Keitaro continued his ranting until Haruka gave him an elbow strike to his head knocking him unconscious.

After finally a gruelling thirty minute flight of stairs to Hinata, Haruka got out her cigarette pack and started lighting up one of her cancer sticks.

"Goddamn stubborn relative." Uttered the older woman as she puffed out the smoke from her lungs into the atmosphere. Entering the inn, she slumped the unconscious man on her shoulders like a sack of potatoes and went into the common room.

After displacing the load on her shoulders on the couch, the older (cough) relative (cough) called out all the boarders of the Hinata inn. Once all of them, had sat on the living room, the rowdy delinquent began to stir…

Keitaro's vision was still blurry, he couldn't properly place out the one with the antenna on the head and the one that had a tail sticking out of its butt, slowly coming back to reality, it hit him like a ton of bricks.

"ALIENS! I'M IN ANOTHER PLANET! SOMEBODY SAVE M—GACK!" A hit on the neck with a chop knocked him out again

"As I was saying when I was rudely interrupted." Haruka then motioned for her pocket and placed the glasses on Keitaro's eyes.

"With Granny Hina gone, the inn won't be taking any new boarders for a while, there'll be a lot sacrifices, especially rent privileges." Haruka then eyed Kitsune sharply with an uneasy laugh escaping from her lips and scratching her head.

"Well, that brings us to the question of what the hell is a man doing here!?" Naru pointed out to the knocked out bespectacled man who began to stir again

"Ow! What the hell hit me?" Screamed Keitaro

"And a cussing machine to boot!" Screamed Naru again pointing a finger to the man

"Oi… Don't point at me like that." Said Keitaro replying rather withdrawingly

"You shut the hell up pervert! You are in no position to talk." Said Naru pointing to him yet again

"Oi! Didn't I tell you to stop pointing at me like that!?" Screamed Keitaro

"Oh boy… Here we go…" Said Haruka hitting her forehead with her palm

"I'd point at anyone I want! Just like so!" Point, point, point

"I said quit pointing at me you damn gorilla!" Said Keitaro a vein popping from his forehead, indicating his irritation

"What'd you say!? I dare you say that again!"

"Gladly! Gorilla! Gorilla! Gorilla!"

" That's it! You're dead!" Naru was then about to punch the living daylights out of this miscreant when his older relative had intercepted the word battle

"(cough) As much I would like to watch one of you beat the face off of the other one, I'd enforce the rule of no fighting inside the inn." Said Haruka and Naru withdrew her attack, after seeing that little bout, she wouldn't want to mess with Haruka right now.

"Now as I was saying before I was interrupted again, with Granny Hina out, the management was pretty much left without much thought. Therefore, Granny Hina devised a plan in order to preserve both the inn and all of you girls in here." Haruka said as she placed a palm on her forehead again

"Ladies, I want you to meet your new Karinrin, heir to the Urashima line, Urashima Keitaro." Haruka then pointed to her bounded relative

"He's our…"

"… New Kanrinrin!?" Both Naru and Motoko raised their voices at the older woman before them

"You must be joking, Haruka-san! To think that we need a new manager, let alone a man in this house… This must be a joke!" Said Motoko until Keitarou interrupted him

"Nope, 'fraid so kendo girl." Keitaro smiled with that comment. Motoko had a vein popping on the back of her head

"What was that!? Take that back you wretched male!" Motoko was about to slash her when Haruka interrupted again

"Alright, can it, Keitarou, better keep quiet unless you want an open-mouth-insert-foot kind of reaction."

"Yay! A new playmate!" Su raised her hands and began running around, all the while Keitaro looked on with mild interest

"Now as the new manager, what would be your first order of business?" Asked Haruka grabbing another cancer stick and Keitaro inwardly smiled, ooh how he loved payback

"First of all as manager, I'm responsible for the health status of my clients and subordinates." He said matter of factly. Haruka nodding and remained oblivious to his nephew's plan

"Therefore, it is detrimental for a business group when one vital member gets incapacitated when a disease hits." He said, finally untying himself loose

"Ah, that felt good." Keitaro said to no one in particular as he cradled his wrists and flexed his neck side to side finally earning a small crack.

"I'm listening." Said Haruka and Keitaro continued as a smile appeared on his face

"I'm forbidding any use of nicotine substances in this house, starting toda-" Keitaro couldn't finish his declaration as he was punched in the face that sent him flying across the room

"Haruka-san, I thought you said no fighting!" Yelled Kitsune with Keitaro jumping from the rubble with a bloody forehead yet again

"Administration's incentives." Was her only reply finally lighting up her cigarette

"I told you to can it with the insults and pet names." Said Haruka and Keitaro merely grumbled

"It was only a joke…" Muttered Keitaro

"No really, the real first order of business is, I'd like to get to know my residents first." Was his reply to no one in particular putting his hands on the back of his head as he sat down on the rubble Indian style while staring outside

"You know, it's been a while since I experienced any kind of peace while my true self was still free. Being here like this… Is kinda nice." Said Keitaro as he stared into the fleeting sunset.

"Well if its introductions first, why don't you start?" Asked Haruka

"My name's Urashima Keitaro, nineteen years old, currently in Toudai, my likes are vehicles, my motorcycle and customizing. My only dislike is unnecessary violence." Said Keitaro loudly still not facing his tenants his gaze still on the beautiful sunset

"Nice to meet you Keitaro, I'm Konno Mitsune, nineteen years old, a freelance writer; my likes are booze, gambling, smoking, and money and dislikes boring old people, my vital statistics are…"

"Thank you, Kitsune, your information was helpful!" Naru mentioned blocking her friend's introduction to a male

"You can't possibly be serious about that are you?" Asked Keitaro, his attention turning back towards his tenants with a confused look until Haruka answered him

"Oh, ignore her for the moment, she just likes to tease people. Your turn Naru." Said Haruka, Keitaro looked at her with mild interest for a moment, listening to her statement

"I'm Narusegawa Naru, seventeen years old, currently attending cram school to get into Toudai, my likes are singing and studying my dislikes happen to be perverts." Said Naru glaring at Keitaro who merely shrugged muttering it was only an accident, and said to her

"Sorry for calling you an alien and a gorilla." The only male in the residence muttered. Naru's eyebrow twitched in annoyance but let it slide for now, at least he was apologetic

"I am Aoyama Motoko, fifteen years old, a junior high student, my likes are training and my older sister my dislikes are men." Said the one in the white kimono and red hakama, her hair tied in a ponytail

"No wonder I could recognize that sword style, you're from Shinmei Ryuu school, aren't you?" Asked Keitaro leaning closer to the fifteen year old

"H-How did you know?" Asked the kendo girl

"Simple, I once trained there and fought with their best disciple, her name's Tsuruko by the way." Keitaro said matter-of-factly

Motoko's eyes grew wide with shock, this man fought with his sister? Unbelievable!

"Who won?" Asked the kendo girl

"It was a tie." Was his first mention, clearly grinning at the said memory

"The battle lasted for three hours. It was because of her that I refined my disarming martial arts, she was the one who named it after all." Said Keitaro as he chuckled at the memory

Motoko calmly held shusui by the hilt, here was a true genius standing before her, able to match her sister fairly in combat.

"How old were you then?" Asked Motoko

"Hmm… By the same age as you were." Said Keitaro and Motoko felt herself on a downward spiral

"But… That was roughly four years ago… When big sister was at her finishing touches to become a master…" Uttered Motoko and Keitaro merely shrugged

"Ah, I couldn't care less of rank, developing a certain style back then was a hassle if you didn't know your ki type." Said the male brunette turning his head to the stuttering child

"M-My name is Maehara Shinobu, I am twelve years old, Junior High, my likes are cooking and peace, my only dislike is fighting." Said the girl, with the short dark blue hair

"… Do you know how to cook Yakisoba?" Asked Keitaro, Shibobu merely nodded

"Then you and I are going to get along so well! Nice to meet ya, Shinobu-chan!" Said Keitaro a grin plastered on his face, what? Yakisoba was his favourite food! Better than that tempura crap!

"Ooh! Ooh! Me next!' Said the tanned blonde, Keitaro turned his head towards the acrobatic girl that was doing cartwheels around the room

"I'm Kaolla Su! I'm thirteen and I like playing… And bananas!"

Keitaro had an eyebrow raised and turned his head back towards Haruka

"You want me to manage a bunch of eccentric women that could seriously injure, and or possibly kill me." Deadpanned the male brunette

"No, it was granny's. And don't give me that look of yours, I'm your superior here." Haruka replied

"Aha! So you are o-ompf!" Keitaro couldn't finish his sentence as Haruka punched him in the gut

"Last warning, Keitaro." Haruka warned her hand was smoking with her ki raised in shoulder level

"I think I just lost my lunch." Said Keitaro feeling himself hurling on the ground

"Is he going to be okay?" Asked Shinobu and Haruka merely replied

"He's more stubborn than an ox, a punch like that isn't enough to drag him down."

With that, Haruka left the inn, letting the new management establish itself on a bunch of women that seem too delineate from the norms of society.

A few hours later:

Keitaro had opened his new room, it was Granny Hina's room, everything was still pristine and as quiet as it was back then during his visit, the sunlight bended from the green curtains hanged by the window, a desk lamp perfectly placed at the table, with countless documents hidden at the boxes below, a wooden chair by the table, the book shelf stationed by the side of the table.

"Still the same as ever… Good thing I still haven't put my things inside, and- hello?" Keitaro immediately noticed the hole on the floor, peering inside, he saw a woman wearing thick pieces of eyewear reading a book

"Oi, how long was this hole placed here? And how did it happen?" Keitaro mentioned below

Naru looked up and saw that the man was looking at him with a questioning gaze, the girl merely snorted and continued reading, replying

"Granny Hina placed it there if there was a problem, I could have immediately talked to her."

Keitaro had to shake his head, grandmother and her sentimentalities

"This just won't do, I have to cover this hole up here, you know that this leaves both of us exposed, right?"

Naru had a twitch on the back of her head and simply replied annoyingly

"Whatever."

"Man, what got into your butt and stuck? I'm just trying to be a manager here by good standards." Said Keitaro as he journeyed back down and grabbed some nails, plywood and a hammer.

Before he could though, he needed to get his things at the coffee shop. He knows he has some things there he wants to set up before finally settling to fix the hole.

Going back down to the coffee shop, he grabbed his backpack full of clothes and his long shoulder bag that has his laptop, a tool he earned by working hard enough for two years, the laptop was an engineer's best friend when it came to drawing after all.

Finally reaching his room, he placed his laptop by the desk and his backpack on the floor, a few notebooks and pens by the side of the laptop and his hardware materials to fix the gaping hole on his floor.

"My new life starts with a swing of this hammer." Muttered Keitaro hitting the nail on the head burying it deep into the wooden floor.

The next day:

"AAAAHHHH!"

Keitaro was startled with a scream that came from below, running down towards one the room of one of his tenants, he quickly pounded on the door.

"Oi! What the hell happened!?" He screamed from the door a calm and collected Kitsune pops up from her room, and said

"Oh, that Naru, I told her many times to sleep early and relax for now, today's mock exams are going to be conducted near Toudai." Kitsune said putting a hand on her forehead.

"WHAT? THAT'S ALL!?" Asked Keitaro and then he looked at the clock

6:30 am

"SHIT! I'M GONNA BE LATE!" Said Keitaro jumping towards his room all the while Kitsune stared at him with a sly smile on her face

"Nice boxers Keitaro!" She teased, Keitaro merely blushed and screamed at the woman

"S-Shut up!"

It took Keitaro exactly thirty minutes to finish his own bath and got dressed with his new and wild feral look, he dashed down the stairs and quickly grabbed some toast that Shinobu prepared and went outside…

Only to be met by countless men in black suits and shades that extended from the base of the hill all the way to the front door.

All of them were bowing at him

"**GOOD MORNING KEITARO-SAMA!"**

Keitaro had a vein popping from the back of his head as his left eye twitch

"WHERE THE HELL DID YOU ALL COME FROM!?" Asked the boy

"K-Keitaro-sama! It's good to see you!" Said the one on his nearest left as he was the first to shed tears soon followed by the rest of the men

"Takezo!? What the hell!? Didn't I tell you guys that you were just needed in the company more!?" Asked the bewildered and confused Keitaro.

"B-But Keitaro-sama…"

"No, nevermind, and I'm not relieving all of you on your posts! Now get your asses back there and let me go to school!" Keitaro literally screamed as all of the man gave a half hearted, teary salute.

Keitaro then ran down the long flight of stairs, with his expertise in the martial arts, he flawlessly went down the stairs to the base of the hill and then had to look back.

'_I feel a little bit guilty by leaving behind Narusegawa like that…' _Thought Keitaro and an idea immediately popped into his mind

He grinned and dashed towards the teahouse's garage.

"Just this one time." Said Keitaro knocking on the door.

Hinata inn:

Naru was in a pinch, she was about to be late for her mock exams! How stupid of her! If only she could've listened to the advice that Kitsune had given her, maybe she wouldn't be in this mess!

She then grabbed her backpack all with the essentials for the test, she had no time for breakfast now, all that hard work will go to waste!

She ran from her room, desperate to make it in time for her exams, she dashed past the kitchen and the dining room and past the front door.

But now comes the biggest obstacle, the long flight of stairs that made Hinata inn feel like a temple.

Just then she could hear a loud booming of an engine

BROOOM!

And then, A huge Motorcycle, a Harley in fact, jumped from the long flight of stairs, Naruto didn't know how it got there, but the skid that the said vehicle made on the ground was perfect, the person was a damn good driver.

Keitaro removed his helmet and made himself visible for Naru.

"Your exams are near Toudai right? Hop on and I'll take you there!" Said Keitaro tossing a spare helmet to Naru who caught it rather clumsily.

"Don't just stand there, Narusegawa! Hop on!" Said Keitaro touching and spinning the accelerator that made the engine of the motorbike roar in power.

Naru cautiously approached him and said

"Just this one time, pervert! You're lucky I'm in a rush as well, so you're lucky."

Keitaro had a sweat dropping at the back of his head

Keitaro then pumped more of the accelerator, the engine roaring yet again at the loud booming voice, he then said to Naru with a grin inside his helmet

"Better hold on tight!" Said Keitato letting go of the breaks and immediately let the motorcycle move down slope.

Naru felt like her skin turn cold…

Five minutes later:

Naru was grabbing on to Keitaro's waist for dear life as the said boy was running through the highway with his Motorcycle at top speed. The rowdy young man made a sharp turn to the left entering the city limits.

Even then, Keitaro didn't seem to slow down, as he went and overtook a Toyota Supra and a Honda Civic with his mad machine of death, turning right, Keitaro immediately stopped reaching the building that Naru was supposed to take the test

"Well here we are!" Said Keitaro, grinning from ear to ear as he then adjusted his jacket and removed his helmet, meanwhile, the pale Naru grasped on his shoulder for dear life, her heart seemed to stop for a moment gasping for air

"T-That was scary!" She screamed at the man and Keitaro gave a hearty laugh earning flushed cheeks and a pout from Naru

"What the hell is so funny!?" Asked Naru

"Just the fact that I rarely drive like a speed demon, if anything I love my ride too much, if it wasn't for your rush hour, and me almost being late then I might have driven more safely." Keitaro mentioned

"I didn't ask you to take me here!" She shouted

Keitaro had to calm down and pinch the bridge of his nose

"Hey, I know from experience just how difficult it is to be late for these kind of exams, just relax and don't let the pressure get to you." Keitaro smiled, startling the girl back, a blush appearing on his face

"Well, I better get going, my first class happens to be drawing. Ja! Oh, I'll pick you up. I only have two classes today and I don't have anything else to do! Better be grateful!" Keitaro then turned his bike and rode away

"Wait!" Naru said, as she outstretched her hand, a blush still present on her cheeks

"Thank you." Was all she could mutter little did she know, that this was the start of her infatuation for the wild young man that took her here.

Five hours passed and it was one in the afternoon, most of the people in Keitaro's class all stared at the said boy with an incredulous look, he had a change in appearance, he didn't wear those glasses like he used to, instead his eyes were exposed for the world to see, and his hair, it changed from common school boy look to wild and stylish. All of them couldn't believe what they were seeing

Questions kept permeating from his classmates to him with simple and understandable questions like "What happened to you Keitaro?" to annoying inquiries "Is that you, Urashima?"

All of his friends gasped at Keitaro's new look, sure this wasn't high school, but still, the new change happened to be well accepted by some of the women in his building. Keitaro showed an air of confidence companied with his equal show of wit and smarts.

As the class finished for the day, Keitaro sighed, holding his hand bag by his motorcycle.

"Well Naru's test should be over in another hour. Might as well make the most of it."

Grabbing aYakisoba Bread from the cafeteria for lunch he put his bag in the chair compartment and grabbed his helmet.

He went ahead of the others, going east to go for a friendly visit. As he rode towards his destination, he couldn't help but feel melancholic as he recalled some of the painful memories of his high school days

Flashback three years ago:

"_Hey, Keitaro, pretty banged up I see!" Said the person that stood before the younger looking Keitaro who had a bloody lip and an equally bloody forehead. Lying by the alley and sitting near a trash can, Keitaro felt exhausted, almost to the brink of fainting. He looked up at the starry lit sky and saw one of his friends back in his school_

"_It's alright man… You don't have to do this for me anymore." Said the boy that looked to be of Keitaro's height, bleached white hair that was spiked up and a pair of emerald green eyes. The boy had the same uniform as Keitaro_

"_S-Seta… What are you…"Keitaro muttered as Seta lifted him up on his shoulders_

"_I'm talking about Aya and my promise… I finally got over her, you didn't have to pay back Mori from Shinsen for what they did to me… Really… But thanks anyway, because of you, I think I've finally understood how foolish I was to even think of a stupid childhood promise. And you beating him up made me feel better about myself" Said Seta as another familiar face appeared before them_

"_Hey Tatsu! Give me a hand here! Keitaro's pretty heavy." Seta yelled_

_The said boy approached, his kempt brown hair was his feature along with his beady eyes._

"_Good thing your okay, man, we were worried you'd get stabbed before you could even touch Mori. God, you were freakin' amazing!" Told Tatsu_

_Keitaro weakly laughed as he was dragged by his friends away, about to be carried to the hospital_

"_Hehe… Good thing you don't bend the other way Tatsu, or else that comment of yours would have me shivering to my shoes."_

"_Hey, you're the one who could barely walk, is that a way to talk to the friend that's carrying you to the hospital?" Tatsu remarked and Seta laughed heartily for the first time in weeks_

"_You guys are the best people to have as friends." Said Seta, with both Tatsu and Keitaro smiling at him._

_The next day, Seta was shot dead. It turns out that Mori wanted vengeance against Keitaro, so he targeted his friend. As he Seta was about to be placed for his final resting place, He couldn't help but hear the laugh and the mockery of both Mori and Aya as they ridiculed Seta's coffin from afar._

_Mori was relieved off the case, one of his gang members took the fall for him, and was convicted of murder. It turned out that Mori had connections in the Yakuza and the police, so he got off easy._

_After that, Keitaro swore upon Seta's grave that he would bring his death to justice, and that he would not fall for the deceptions of childhood promises as his friend had… All of it were just dreams, a mockery of youth_

"_Seta…" Keitaro uttered his teeth clenched in anger as his eyes were hidden from view, the falling rain mixing with the tears falling from his eyes._

Flashback ended

Keitaro turned a sharp curb to the left and headed towards the cemetery.

'_Its been three years since your death Seta, and I brought the ones responsible for your death to justice, I forced them to admit their sins and disbanded his group of miscreants, I hope you can rest easy.' _Keitaro thought as he stopped by the cemetery and bought the finest Sake near the wine shop

As he approached the tomb, a serene smile escaped Keitaro's lips and crouched down on to the tombstone that read

'_Toujiro Seta'_

Keitaro then poured his bottle of Sake on the tombstone…

"Hey, Seta… I'm back… I hope you weren't angry at me for the last two years since I visited you."

Unknown Location:

A single plum of smoke permeated in the air, as it scattered about in the atmosphere

The person that released the smoke was a bald man, he stood about the height of a professional basketball player, a six footer, he had a moustache that was spread from chin to the sideburns of his face, countless rings were wrapped on his ears and fingernails, he wore a hooded jacket with hand warmers at the front, blue denim pants and a pair of high cut shoes. He sat on a pink couch, holding a woman of what looked like a Ganguro.

A person then entered the room, a typical thug with the rings and the tattoos on his arms, he looked at the bald man at the back and then said

"Kouta-san, I have news for you." Said the subordinate

"What?" The man replied, as he began to move his hands and fondle at the girl's curves

"We found him…"

Kouta smiled wickedly and said to his subordinate.

"Good."

To be continued!

Ha! That about wraps it up!

Chapter Preview:

"Yo, I see that the Asura still lingers here in these parts, nice to meet you again." Said Kouta as he looked at Keitaro with a wicked grin

"The hell are you?" Asked Keitaro rather annoyedly as he stared at Kouta with a confused look scratching the back of his head

"YOU DON'T REMEMBER!? IT WAS YOU WHO DID THIS TO ME, PUNK!" Said Kouta, as he lifted his jacket and showed a horrendous scar by his chest

"Wha-?" Was all Keitaro could ask before the man began to spat at him again

"Heh, fine, as compensation of doing this to me and humiliating me all those years ago, I'm taking your luscious little girlfriend over there." Said Kouta pointing at Naru who stood behind Keitaro

Keitaro narrowed his eyes in contempt of the man and then said to him

"Your problem is with me, horse face, don't get her involved in this."

Keitaro then prepared for his stance, extending his arms and enveloping his area and Naru's with his own ki.

"I'll beat you up so bad that even you won't be recognizable after I'm done with you."


	3. Curse of the Fighting Demon

Chapter 3: The Curse of The fighting Demon

Borrowed time, Keitaro's peace was merely borrowed time. Merely two years since he had wanted to forget his past, the tragedies that had beset him, the times when he used his fists to fight until the sun had set. His path for revenge had consumed him, swallowing him whole and plunging him into the world of organized crime and delinquency. He wanted to forget that, forget his foolishness, forget that he had broken his word to his departed friend, Toujiro Seta.

After pouring sake to his grave, Keitaro stood up, looking at his watch, he noticed that the time was almost up for the entrance exam to end, with that, he bade his friend a farewell and rode off to his university.

Once he had reached the gates, he was greeted with Naru whom he immediately apologized,

"Sorry about that Narusegawa, had to visit a friend…" Said Keitaro and Naru merely said, "It's alright, I just got out."

She was about to ride the motorcycle when she heard countless loud sounds of motor engines spewing gas from their exhaust pipes coming from behind, she looked around and saw countless members of what seemed to be a rowdy biker gang, Keitaro looked serious for a moment, his hands were already balled into fists as he heard the countless teasing and swaggers coming from the men that were holding chains or a bokken.

Keitaro merely stayed quiet, he didn't want to use force as necessary. But if it came down to it, he'll just have to beat them until they were utterly terrified of him.

Finally, the last bike came, the men that surrounded Keitaro and Naru were both sneering and swaggering at both of them, while some drooled as they watched the woman in the middle who, out of instinct, held on to Keitaro's uniform.

The man in the last bike then turned off his motorcycle and stood up, he crossed his arms and then smugged at Keitaro, "Yo, I see that the Asura still lingers here in these parts, nice to meet you again." Said Kouta as he looked at Keitaro with a wicked grin

Keitaro looked at him with a blank expression for a few seconds and then asked in an annoyed tone of voice, "The hell are you?"

He then scratched the back of his head, trying to recall anyone that looked like a rodent flattened by a ten wheeler truck, roadkill

"YOU DON'T REMEMBER!? IT WAS YOU WHO DID THIS TO ME, PUNK!" Said Kouta, as he lifted his jacket and showed a horrendous scar by his chest

"Wha-?" Was all Keitaro could ask before the man began to remind him again,

"Mori's right hand man! Heishiro Kouta! You remember him don't you!?"

Keitaro scowled when he had heard the name Mori, it reminded him of said person's actions against him, Kouta seemed to had struck a nerve when he saw Keitaro's fists were shaking, he gave a small chuckle and said,

"Ah! So you do remember me!" Said Kouta, Keitaro meanwhile, was now frowning at Kouta, Naru could feel the tension mounting up from the person in front of her and Keitaro said,

"I don't know who you are… But you better not say that name in front of my face!" Said Keitaro, Kouta only grew more frustrated, "You remembered that bastard and not me!?"

He was about to charge at the man like a rampaging bull that saw the colour red, until a plan whipped up in his mind, cracking a smile, he then said to Keitaro,

"Heh, fine, as compensation of doing this to me and humiliating me all those years ago, I'm taking your luscious little girlfriend over there." Said Kouta pointing at Naru who stood behind Keitaro

Naru was scared, this was the first she had been caught up in a gang war, she had heard stories of grizzly beatings and near death encounters of these men, and now, her life and possibly her chastity were at risk now that Keitaro was involved, but all of that fear, all of that hopelessness and tears were stopped even before they fell when

Keitaro then said to Kouta, "Your problem is with me, horse face, don't get her involved in this."

With that, he began to expand his Ki around him enveloping him and Naru in a thick blanket of Ki, as he widened his base and prepared for his stance, one of the thugs made the best decision of going in ahead first, pumping the ignition in his motorcycle, the thug pedalled his accelerator at high speed turning it into a speeding death trap.

Keitaro, immediately sensing this, grabbed the handle bars with ease as it came at him and pushed the breaks sending the thug flying from his motorcycle. Keitaro then twisted his body, tossing the heap of transportation straight at the flying thug who ran away as his motorcycle was totalled by a nearby concrete wall.

Stunned, the thugs didn't even realize that Keitaro had moved at all when the said man moved quickly taking them out from their bikes with jaw shattering punches, grabbing one of the chains, he tossed it to the thug going after Naru. The chain had hit the man square in the nose making him stagger back as blood dripped from his nostril. But Keitaro didn't stop there, grabbing the thug by the collar, he tossed the thug to the nearest wall and pummelled him with his fists making him an unrecognizable heap, after that, he grabbed one of the motorcycles that he kicked one of the thugs off and proceeded to dismantle them with his brutal punches shattering them to pieces while the rest of the vehicles were tossed around like ragdolls.

All the while, Kouta grew paler and paler as Keitaro approached him without even a hint of emotion or fatigue, as he punched someone in the face effortlessly after sneaking up behind him and with a steel bat above head level. Grabbing the steel bat from the thug he just took care off, another one came up to him with his bokken, Keitaro blocked his wooden sword and then threw it away, swinging the steel bat sideways straight to his ribcage breaking it, the thug began to cough out blood and then Keitaro kneed him to the face shattering his nose.

Kouta was now scared, after two years of hiding, he could still remember the Asura's ferocity and ruthlessness weren't even dulled, and now, the said man was walking to him with innate rage and contempt fuelling the man that they tried to deal with long ago.

When Keitaro had reached the front wheel of Kouta's back, he stepped on the wheel with his right foot and said to him eye to eye, "Listen up dog shit, I'm not feeling up to it for a brawl, not when you mentioned Mori's name, you said you were his right hand man right? Tell me, how's he doing now that he's rotting in prison being placed with sex offenders and murderers?"

Keitaro smirked at that, Kouta was now sweating bullets and was shivering like a wet cat that almost drowned in a river.

"Heheh… What do you know… Saito's been quiet when he got into prison… He's been bitter at what happened to him…"

"Good." Was all Keitaro could say as he then smashed the windshield of Kouta's motorcycle

"Rule number one in a fight between men, never involve bystanders, especially women." Said Keitaro then he grabbed Kouta by the collar and said, "Rule number two sleaze bag, if you bear a grudge against someone, you don't send incompetent thugs to take him out, do it yourself."

He could then hear the countless moaning from the downed men. Keitaro then cocked his right arm back, holding the six foot tall Kouta with his left hand above his head.

"Rule number three… There is no rule number three. Just hope to make it out with your face still intact." With that, Keitaro began his beat down on Kouta who was now crying in a mangled heap along with his men.

"Call an ambulance and the police Naru, we'll be having a good talk here. Be sure to be back after you called, we're going home after this." With that, Naru obeyed his word, when Naru saw how much of a rampaging bull, no, more like a vicious dragon methodically tear through those delinquents like paper, she knew she would not dare cross him. Naru now knew why that tall man called Keitaro the Asura, he fought like a demon.

Once she had called the police, she immediately went back to Keitaro who was leaning on his bike and was patiently waiting for Naru.

Once she arrived though, he saw the thugs were wrapped around the pole with their clothes serving as a rope.

Naru merely sweatdropped and then hopped on the motorcycle, Keitaro then placed a small paper on the top of Kouta's head who was separated from the rest of his men, the small paper read,

_Arrest me officer, I'm a cowardly pussy that tried to beat up some college kid only to get a can of whoop ass instead._

With that, he fired up his motorcycle and sped off.

A few moments later, the police and paramedics alike that arrived at the scene were laughing their asses off.

Tea shop, six in the evening:

The sun had just set, the engine of the motorcycle could be heard dying down when they had reached the tea shop. Once there, Keitaro placed the motorcycle inside the storage and told Naru to go on ahead, he had business to take care off at the tea shop.

Once inside, he was met with his biological aunt,

"Yo, Haruka, did granny left you with some of the maintenance tools for my motorcycle? Also, I need some new plywood and a power drill, some of the wood from the old inn are already flimsy and rotten, I think there's a chance that there's a leaked water system on the roof. If you don't mind me asking, where the hell are the maintenance people!?" Keitaro asked, Haruka meanwhile pointed with her thumb opposite of her direction,

"Out in the back, and oh yeah, almost forgot, your parents just called." Said Haruka lighting up another cigarette, Keitaro groaned for a moment and said, "Now what?"

"Said you got another omiai this coming weekend." Said Haruka grabbing a magazine to read while Keitaro began to complain as he screened through the toolkit.

"Another one? Is my mother that hard pressed to marry me off to some unknown woman?" Asked Keitaro, and Haruka replied, "As hard pressed as Kanako is trying to avoid that situation."

Keitaro meanwhile, shuddered when he had heard Kanako's name, immediately, finding the tools, he grabbed it and set out from the tea shop.

"You're lucky she isn't here though, who knows what kind of zany plan is going on her mind when she hears of this."

Keitaro just slumped his shoulders and sighed, every month, his mother manages to find an old friend of hers with a daughter and marry him off. He was surprised though, most of the women that he had met in those awkward situations were not bad looking. In fact, they were really beautiful with some of them posing for magazines and fashion models. Keitaro just had to let his mind think of the more positive things about this,

"At least I get to see some eye candy." Said the blonde going up the long list of stairs to do some work at Hinata.

Inn main residence:

"I'm telling you, Kitsune, that guy's a human wrecking ball! He destroyed ten motorcycle, five of which, he used like a discuss, Kitsune, five!" Said Naru Kitsune merely shrugged and muttered, "After hearing Haruka and Keitaro's conversation, I don't know if I should be scared or laughing my wits off."

Motoko however, had another statement to say, "Irresponsible, to think that a fighter of his calibre would sink so low as to guarantee a fist fight."

Just then, Keitaro had unknowingly entered the inn the girls were lucky that he couldn't hear a thing with his earphones on his head at max volume listening to System of a Down. Motoko was surprised however, when she saw that the manager had managed to arrive without as much as a sound and slipped past her guard, she turned to face the manager but was stopped by Kitsune,

"Leave him alone Motoko, remember what Haruka-san mentioned, no picking fights." Said Kitsune, Motoko hid her contempt and sat down.

"I-I think that you should avoid having any hostile confrontation with him Motoko, Keitaro… When those men were sneering and seeing me with their eyes, Keitaro got mad, h-he literally told their boss that I shouldn't be involved in their problems." Said Naru, and Motoko stopped, maybe Keitaro was an honourable man after all.

When dinner came, Keitaro was overjoyed that it was a beef bowl, one of his favourite dishes, and often, he would start conversations with the rest of his tenants often teasing them and making jokes.

"Seconds, please!" Keitaro smiled handing over the bowl, after Shinobi had handed him his second serving of rice, Keitaro began chowing down as almost as fast as Su.

Kitsune began another set of conversation,

"So Keitaro… I saw those rows of men from the front earlier this morning, and I noticed that some of them had no nails on one of their pinky fingers or some were missing a digit…"

Keitaro suddenly stopped, but he dared not show his face that was covered by the bowl,

"Are you some member of a Yakuza Family?" Asked Kitsune, Keitaro didn't answer, Kitsune's sharp eyes were shown,

"Keitaro… Don't tell me… Are you a Soban (Crime Boss/Yakuza boss)?"

Keitaro just hit the bowl on the table and said, "Intent on my past, eh? Why should I tell my story to any of you strangers? As far as I know, the relationship here is still manager-tenant? Am I wrong?"

Kitsune merely waved her hands in defence while sweating buckets and said, "No! Don't misunderstand, manager-san… Hehe… We just would like to know who we're dealing with here…"

Keitaro began to contemplate on this and then finally, he nodded,

"Alright, but finish up your meals first. I'll tell you all in the living room."

With that he was first to finish and headed to the living room, all the tenants looked at each other and shrugged.

Finishing their meals they each sat down on a chair or the sofa, Keitaro merely looked out at the small window that the living room had. Looking out to the scenic sight that was Hinata City, he turned around when he saw the silhouettes of his tenants moving to find a chair.

He grabbed, his own chair and then sat down, scratching his chin, he pondered, "Hmm… Where do I start?"

"Ooh! Ooh! I know! To the good part of mangling all of your opponents' innards!" Suu said, everyone looked at her and they a huge sweat drop falling from their heads.

"Ah, that's right…" Keitaro mentioned, a melancholic smile escaped his lips, his friends Tatsu and Seta…

"This takes back exactly three years ago…"

_Flashback:_

"_Hey… Keitaro… Do you believe in childhood promises?" Asked a white haired individual, wearing the standard dark blue uniform of his school. He was sitting at the roof of the entrance of the roof top of the school viewing the sunset, as the rest of their schoolmates had quickly exited the school_

_Keitaro, who's back was leaning against the wall looked up to him in curiosity and asked, "What brought this on, Seta?"_

_Tatsu, the one long black hair said, "He's talking 'bout his childhood friend, Aya… He said that one day, fifteen years from when they were five, when the last cherry blossom falls from the tree in Hoshu Park, they would eventually go to a church and settle the deal."_

_Seta looked embarrassed and blushed a little, he laughed weakly and said, "Sorry for acting like a sap there… I just wanted to ask…"_

_Keitaro merely raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Well, to tell you the truth, I made a promise like that when I was five as well…"_

_Tatsu however, merely let his jaw drop in disbelief, "I can't believe you two got backup plans like that! Am I considered a freak when I didn't make a promise like that as well!?"_

_Keitaro laughed and then said, "Don't worry Tatsu, I can't even remember the girl's voice, name or her looks when I made that promise, I just remembered that we'd meet in Tokyo U and get hitched."_

_Tatsu however, interrupted his bespectacled friend, "Woah! Woah! Woah! Tokyo U!? As in THE most prestigious University in the country? Dude, your chick is demanding! Forget that and let's try getting in on one of those institutes in engineering! You know that us common folk got no chances in entering THAT school!"_

"_Well, I just wanted to meet her again to be honest, how she had grown and maybe if she'll remember me." Said Keitaro_

_Tatsu then said, "Dude, this is not some Manga where you or the girl you promised would scream your names and find each other on campus like headless chickens! Come on man, be reasonable!"_

_Seta however intervened he chuckled at Tatsu's antic and said, "I think Keitaro can make it, Tatsu… Out of the three of us he's the smartest."_

"_Now we're getting off topic…" Keitaro mentioned and Seta just smiled and said, "Oh right… Hehe… So tell me Keitaro… You believe those kinds of promises?"_

_Keitaro merely grinned and scratched the back of his head, "Nah, it's a hopeless case for me, though I would like to try out just how far I could go into Tokyo U, who knows? I might pass there and study Mechanical Engineering, I've already talked to my parents about it."_

"_Well then… I guess it's only up to me and Aya, huh?" Asked Seta, Keitaro just nodded,_

"_Oh that's right, you still keep in touch with her since Junior High?" Keitaro asked, Seta slumped his head and shook it,_

"_Ever since she's been in Shinsen high, she's been ignoring me… She's hanging around with friends that she shouldn't, going home really late at night and was seen being hit on by one of the delinquents there, I think his name was Kikawa Mori."_

"_I don't think it's a good idea to mess with her now… I mean the man that's been hitting on your girl was known to have gang members from different schools, and we don't know how deep his connections to the different gangs that circulate around Tokyo." Tatsu said, who frowned, Seta meanwhile, clung to hope about his childhood and said,_

"_I can't Tatsu… Aya__'s been my friend since before kindergarten, we spent a lot of good times together, I was always there if she needed help and when I needed her help. I don't know… I guess I grew an attachment to her… I just can't imagine living without her… You know?"_

_Tatsu meanwhile, face palmed himself and said, "Dude, as sappy as that was, you'll be hunted down by Tokyo's largest delinquent group. You'd be happy if you walked away from him as a paraplegic."_

_Keitaro nodded, "I agree, I can't let you take that risk Seta, you might be Aya's closest friend, but it doesn't change the fact that Mori wants to proclaim her, and with her not showing any denials in Mori's advances, chances are she's going to say yes."_

_Seta just shook his head, "But I just can't give up you know! I have to let my feelings come across to her… Even if it means braving up against Mori…"_

_Keitaro and Tatsu tried to advise him, to the best of their abilities, but in the end, Seta's stubbornness had ruled out. Keitaro just shook his head as did Tatsu, Seta was in a world of hurt when he admits his feelings to Aya._

_Keitaro had known it, but he was powerless to stop Seta, his mind was made up… There's nothing more that he could do about it._

_A week had passed since the conversation on the top school roof, the changes were subtle but Keitaro and Tatsu began to notice the change in Seta's mannerisms, he used to smile all the time, now, he was melancholic as if a great sadness had bereft him, it seemed his spirits were crushed but he hid them from his friends to not make them worry about him so much, the three were casually talking their way as they headed out from school that day. Immediately, a Toyota Grandia High Ace stopped in front of the three, grabbed Seta by the collar and tossed him inside, surprised at this sudden turn of events, Keitaro was smacked in the face when he was left stunned and Tatsu was kicked on the gut sending him crashing on a nearby wall, which thankfully remained intact._

_Keitaro was scared for his friend fear overtook his mind and anger began to well up, adrenalin kicking in as he could feel his heart beat faster, stronger and louder, he forced himself up and screamed his name_

"_SETA!" Keitaro said, as he got up and shook his friend awake_

"_Tatsu! Tatsu! Stay with me!" Keitaro said as he shook his friend, Tatsu stirred as he could feel the pain on his abdomen and his back_

"_That idiot… he confessed to Aya didn't he?" Was only Tatsu's answer and Keitaro shook his head, "Never mind that! Call the police! Seta's been kidnapped! I'll search for them, my grandmother bought me a new Motorcycle, I'll contact you while you remain with the police!"_

_With that, Keitaro sped off to his home to grab his motorcycle, thankfully, he had his driver's license with him or risk explaining more to his mother and take more of his time, once home, he grabbed his wallet from his back pocket getting the key for his bike, he then inserted the key to its slot and turned it, kicking up the motor's ignition and putting his helmet, he had sped off as fast as he possibly can, hoping and praying that his friend would be alright_

_With every second that passed, he could hear his breath escaping from his lips, how focused he was at the task at hand, dodging cars, bikes and pedestrians at his wake, he swerved to the right stretching his left leg to make sure he didn't fall from his bike and pumped more gas into the exhaust._

_Immediately, he had caught up to the van as it made a stop to one of the local warehouses near the harbour. Keitaro then contacted his friend and said his location._

_Once inside, he could hear someone scream in pain as he was about to approach_

"_GUAH!"_

_Seta coughed up blood inside, as he was punched in the gut, he kneeled down as he shook from the pain, one eye closed, his body was tied with rope so that he couldn't fight back._

"_So… Aya__ told me that you were having the hots for her huh? Toujiro Seta-kun?" The one who was giving the beating said, a teenage male with piercings on his ears and long hair, Keitaro deduced it was Mori. Mori kicked Seta in the face and then grabbed him by the front of his hair,_

"_She said to me you were being a nuisance, and that she wanted me to teach you a lesson in messing with her life… No, I want to do more than that, Seta-kun…" Mori said, as he stepped on Seta's back,_

"_I'll teach you a lesson about going after the Oni no Me's (Demon Eyes) women… MY women, Seta." Mori mentioned, as he raised Seta to eye level and began pummelling him with fists, blood dripped from Seta's nose and some of his teeth were gone his right eyelid was swollen and his left eye sported a black eye._

_Mori__ had enough of his playtime and decided, to let his goons do the damage, the men were more than happy enough to oblige when they held steel bats and two by fours._

_Keitaro's eyes grew wide, his fists began shaking from anger as he saw his friend being tortured and humiliated._

_His rage began to burn its righteous fury, he bit his lower lip out of anger and blood forced out of it, he couldn't take this anymore, he HAD to do something!_

_When the said goons were toying with Seta, a loud crash was heard by the opening of the front gates, the man before them stood with his shadow casting out front they could only see the enraged eyes of Keitaro as if he was death incarnate, he was looking at them, with not even a small word, Keitaro walked to the six men that were surrounding Seta, one of the thugs then charged at Keitaro, who merely struck first with a fist straight across the face, and then kneeing the thug straight to the gut forcing him down._

_The other thugs began to charge at him at the same time and Keitaro charged as well, he kicked someone directly at the face and grabbed his steel bat, he swung the bat sideways, completely destroying one of the gangster's two by fours and punched the said goon straight to the chest, forcing the client to breath hard, the goon fell down and Keitaro smacked the steel bat straight across the face of the next one effectively breaking the thug's jaw, Keitaro was then taken by surprise when he was held by his lower Torso, he countered by elbowing the man on his back, causing the man to stagger back and break his bearings, Keitaro then bent down and grabbed the man's right leg, forcing the both of them down. But Keitaro didn't stop yet as he literally pulled the man's leg from its socket._

_The thug that held Keitaro screamed in pain as Keitaro then stood up and was then literally punched in the face. Keitaro staggered back, blood in his mouth trailing to his chin, Keitaro wiped it off and for the first time since the start of the fight, he screamed,_

"_AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Keitaro cocked both his fists back and slammed both of it straight to one of the thug's chest, making him fall down like his other comrade who found out it was getting harder to take in more oxygen_

_Mori,__ hearing the commotion form afar, went to the scene only to see Keitaro beating up six of his men and was now holding a steel bat safely cradled on his shoulders as he slowly walked towards Mori._

"_For all the bruises, beatings and cuts you did to my friend…" Keitaro said, now, his eyes showed its pure rage, burning like fire and raging like a storm, Keitaro then said to Mori,_

"_I'm paying back double…" Said Keitaro as he dashed towards Mori the bat immediately on the top of Keitaro's head, Mori was surprised, and immediarely he punched Keitaro in the face forcing the brown haired boy to stumble back._

_Keitaro, enraged and relentless, appeared beside Mori's side immediately and smacked Mori with his forearm, Keitaro immediately followed suit and punched Saito through the floor. Mori coughed up much blood and counter attacked by kicking Keitaro in the chest. Keitaro kneeled slightly from the pain, he made a sweeping kick below, Mori, seeing this, jumped up and bent his knees so that he could evade. With Keitaro seeing this moment of opportunity, he immediately stood up, and tackled Mori on his stomach forcing Mori on the ground, Keitaro was now on top of Mori, pounding the said man on the ground with his fists. All of it was cut short when Keitaro was tackled to the ground by Mori's men. Keitaro couldn't get up from his position. He was surprised that Mori had managed to call for back up. Keitaro, was then forced to stand, his arms were held by two of Mori's men. Mori however, began punching Keitaro in the face, the abdomen and chest, Keitaro gritted his teeth and ignored the pain, all the while, blood came from his mouth and nose, some of his men were surprised however, when Keitaro could still stand and the said teenaged boy spat on Mori's face._

"_Got anymore, weakling? My aunt hits hell of a lot more than you do!" Keitaro said, he grinned and then without warning gave a powerful high kick, smacking his left captor in the face and throwing down his right. A fist aimed down on the man's face as they fell down. Immediately, Keitaro punched the one who was closest to him in the gut and threw him to the rest of his men, Mori could then see it, see the steam rising out of Keitaro, as he watched the teenager's who's back was facing against him and going wild to his men,_

"_RRRRRRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!!"_

_Keitaro said as he kicked, punched and wrestled any of Mori's men, being forced into the ground their weapons stolen and disarmed, Keitaro took them all and either tore them apart or used them. Smacking someone in the shoulders with a steel bat, Keitaro felt it all the more satisfying as he went low and smacked the steel bat straight to the thug's knees, breaking his bones. The man screamed in pain as he kneeled and Keitaro, without mercy thrusted the bat to the thug's face tossing him to the row of his enemies._

_By now, the thugs were beginning to get scared, for as long as the fighting had continued, Keitaro slowly grew more and more brutal with his assaults, their friend who was smashed in the knees with a steel bat would never be able to walk again. Keitaro had effectively destroyed the man's future._

"_Why the hell are you doing this!?" Asked one of the men, Keitaro just walked to them with cold eyes,_

"_For beating up someone who can't even put up a fight." Said Keitaro, Mori could see it, the flow of the steam coming out of Keitaro, it was as if the man that they were facing was a machine of war, they couldn't even get close to him without him seriously injuring one of them._

_The sounds of a siren could then be heard as countless police officers began to surround the complex, Mori gritted his teeth and commanded his men to run, some of the men were reluctant, what about the other comrades who were lying down, Mori took this as a cue,_

"_Forget about those weaklings, they don't deserve to be in our group anyway! Now you guys want to run or what?" Mori asked, and the had to agree, although some came to regret that decision. Keitaro however, had given chase to Saito to a nearby alley who managed to escape his grasps, he slid down on the walls of the alley and then fell on the floor._

_Once the police had arrived, Keitaro was on the floor spread eagle, he was tired, more beaten up than Seta was, the said boy had already been set free by Tatsu, Seta then ran over to Keitaro along with Tatsu,_

"_Hey Keitaro… Pretty banged up I see…" Said Seta, Keitaro smiled a little as he was on the ground, Lying by the alley and sitting near the trashcan, Keitaro felt exhausted, almost to the point of fainting_

"_Look's… Who's… talking…" Said Keitaro as he looked up at the starry lit sky and laughed weakly, his pain thresholds were sustaining… But he was pretty weak._

"_It's alright, man… You don't have to this anymore…"Seta said, leaning against the wall Keitaro had been kneeling and slid down with him,_

"_S-Seta… What are you…"Keitaro muttered as Seta lifted him up on his shoulders_

_Seta was crying a little, the rejection, the pain, all of the stuff his friend had to go through just for his foolishness… All of it, it was starting to pour down._

"_I'm talking about Aya and my promise… I couldn't forever chase such a silly dream, you didn't have to pay back Mori from Shinsen for what they did to me… Really… But thanks anyway, because of you, I think I've finally understood how foolish I was to even think of a stupid childhood promise. And you beating him up made me feel better about myself" Said Seta_

_Tatsu had came running towards them just in time, _

"_Hey Tatsu! Give me a hand here! Keitaro's pretty heavy." Seta yelled_

"_Good thing your okay, man, we were worried you'd get stabbed before you could even touch Mori. God, you were freakin' amazing!" Told Tatsu_

_Keitaro weakly laughed as he was dragged by his friends away, about to be carried to the hospital_

"_Hehe… Good thing you don't bend the other way Tatsu, or else that comment of yours would have me shivering to my shoes."_

"_Hey, you're the one who could barely walk, is that a way to talk to the friend that's carrying you to the hospital?" Tatsu remarked and Seta laughed heartily for the first time in weeks_

"_You guys are the best people to have as friends." Said Seta, with both Tatsu and Keitaro smiling at him. Seta cried as both Tatsu and Keitaro said,_

"_Hey, crybaby, don't let it get to you, you know even if you were dumped by a hundred women, we'll still be there for you!" Said Tatsu, Keitaro laughed_

"_Don't bother with Tatsu, Seta, I'm sure you could find another woman who could love you, there are plenty of fish in the sea." Said Keitaro and Seta only nodded, as they got to a police car and three were taken to the hospital._

_The next day:_

_They couldn't believe they got off easily from the hospital, a few bruises and some cuts, and to prove it to some of their classmates, they were wearing gauzes and bandages on their foreheads and cheeks, well except for Tatsu, who was ordered to ask for help._

_The day at school was not the least bit eventful, a lot of their classmates had asked what had happened a few of the girls were looking at them sympathetically and told them to take care of themselves, hell even Tatsu got a date!_

_The three of them exited the school when classes were over they looked up and saw that the clouds were grey, an ominous sign of rain, as they headed outside, they saw a Ducati 999r stopping by in front of them, Keitaro, now being more careful than ever, approached up front, preparing himself for a fight, that is until the rider pulled out a 9mm hand gun, out of instinct, Seta pushed Keitaro out of the way, the gun was fired, hitting Seta clean across the chest, _

_Keitaro, in anger, dashed for the motorcycle, tackled the rider to the ground and removed the helmet pounding the man to the ground and breaking his arms to unconsciousness_

_Out of anger, Keitaro recognized it was Mori,_

"_SETA! SETA! KEITARO! SETA'S NOT BREATHING!" Tatsu shouted_

_In horror, Keitaro dashed to his friend,_

"_No! No! No!" Keitaro yelled, going over Seta and cradled Seta, blood was dripping everywhere,_

"_Seta… Seta!" Keitaro shook him, Seta was unresponsive, Keitaro's fear became realized, tears fell down from his cheeks, holding Seta in his arms, Keitaro could feel Seta's body growing cold, shaking in horror, he yelled skywards._

"_SETTTTTTTTTTTAAAAAAAAAA!"_

_And soon, the grey clouds began pouring tiny droplets of rain, as it settled down in the small town, turning its view in a pastel of mist and dark hues…_

_Flashback ended:_

"And that was when it all began…" Said Keitaro as he looked down, the memories of that tragedy starting to come down to him like an unstoppable waterfall, it was the event that triggered his path for revenge, the girls looked at him with a sad expression,

'_He's… Faced tragedy like the rest of us…'_ Naru thought sadly, Motoko on the other hand was shaking in fury, not from Keitaro, but from just how horrible people tend to act just to satisfy themselves.

"But it doesn't explain why you're a Soban though…" Kitsune said, Keitaro was about to explain that when a call had interrupted them, Shinobu answered the phone and told the crowd inside the living room,

"Sempai… It's a professor from Todai, he said he wants to speak with you…"

"Alright, I'll be there in a sec…" He said to Shinobu and then said to the rest of the residents, "Looks like, that's story is for another time ladies… I seem to have some work cut out for me."

Reaching for the phone, he answered it and the girls decided to eavesdrop

"Yeah, Keitaro speaking"

…

"Ah, Professor Makino! It's good to hear from you…"

…

"You said you want some help from a project? Who is requesting the project anyway?"

…

Keitaro then went wide eyed and yelled, "THE MILITARY!?"

To this, the women gasped, Keitaro recomposed himself,

"You serious?"

…

"I see… So you want help in an amphibious armoured artillery"

…

"Yeah, the problem would be the mobility, if I can see the design from the company, it would help."

…

"Kyoto!? And the life size prototype is in Okinawa!?"

…

"What the hell!? You mean that professor from the archaeology department?"

…

"No thanks, but Noriyasu-sensei's driving is based on pure hail maries, I can't take that risk, especially since you want me to deliver the documents to Okinawa. We may live with his driving but I doubt the documents would survive."

…

"Yeah, I got my means of transportation; I'm sure my motorcycle is enough."

…

"Next week, huh? Okay, just don't schedule it on Saturday, my parents want me back for that day because of some stupid omiai."

Everyone gasped at that

"I know, I know… I'll get right on it."

With that, he hung the phone up and went up, "Well, I guess that's it…"

With that Keitaro went up to his room and said, "Looks like I won't be able to do the repairs for a while, can I count you girls to wait for the repairs while I'm gone?"

The girls nodded and Keitaro grinned, "Great! I'll be going to rest in my room now."

With that he yawned and stretched disappearing from the view of his tenants.

"Woah… A college student and he's already a workin' for a great benefactor." Kitsune said, licking her lips ooh, a great man was at the works there

"I just can't believe that he had to watch his friend die and from some ass, no less." Naru said, now she felt terrible judging him like that.

"Honor is abound to those that fight for the weak and seek vengeance to the fallen." Said Motoko, Shinobu looked at her curiously,

"What, Motoko-san?"

"I meant that Urashima is a man of redemption, looking at him, his ki is overflowing with sorrow and pain. He may not show it to us, but his ki is fluctuating too much when he is reminded of his fallen friend."

Kitsune merely scowled at that, she had read a similar situation like this before, but she didn't know when… Surely enough it was three years ago, but the headlines were far different from what she can remember

'_Ah, what the heck, I'll be hitting the library when I feel like it, 'till then it's sake hour.'_

Kitsune hummed a tone and went to her room for the night, and the rest of the tenants did so as well.

The next day:

A clear day had greeted Keitaro once he was out of the school, once outside though, he had parked his motorcycle near an arcade, he walked his way through the streets for a while thinking it would kill some time, and sure enough, he was greeted by two friends of his back in the review institute.

"K-Keitaro… Well what do you know, if it isn't Keitaro, the Todai student!"

Immediately, Keitaro's attention was brought to the two people that called out to him, he ran over to them and grinned at the two familiar people

"Hiatani! Shirai! What are you guys doing here!?" Said Keitaro and Hiatani remarked,

"Isn't it obvious? The review centre's over there! We came here to relax since college entrance exams are over! Our apartment is just close here so we decided to hang out here!" Said Hiatani, Shirai just nodded

"More importantly Mr. Todai student, what's with the new look? I barely recognized you!"

Keitaro grinned and said, "Ah, yeah… I just wanted to look more regal in college"

Shirai commented him, "Well, keep it up man, you look cool!"

Keitaro's ego grew, "Hehe… I know, I know."

"Sooo…." Hiatani trailed and then continued,

"Got a girlfriend yet?" Asked Hiatani, Keitaro just shrugged and said "Nope, got to focus on my work and studies first, got no time for a girlfriend."

Hiatani looked at him in disbelief and promptly bonked him on the head,

"What are you saying, you idiot!? Got no time!? Keitaro you're practically twenty! If you don't get a girlfriend now, who knows when you will get laid?"

Shirai and Keitaro looked around and saw the people staring at them, with some women letting their children avoid them, Keitaro and Shirai had sweat over their heads and said to the public, "Don't mind us, our friend here is just hysterical!"

Just then, Hiatani pushed Keitaro back, forcing Keitaro to stumble a little and hit a row of girls from behind.

Keitaro screamed at Hiatani, "Oi, Hiatani! Next time you push me over I'm going to push you off a cliff! Ya' hear me!?"

As he got up and dusted himself, he noticed that a woman who was almost as tall as her was on the ground, for once trying to be gentleman, he offered his hand for help,

"Sorry about that. That moron over there pushed me and hurt you, sorry."

His hand was slapped away however, by the girl and said to him, "I don't need help from a man. Get away from me!"

With that she stood up and dusted herself, Keitaro, upon the girl standing, immediately recognized who she was,

"Ah! Aoyama, what are you doing here?" Asked Keitaro, in honest curiosity with a raised eyebrow,

Motoko looked at her manager and then said, "So it was you who bumped into me you disrespectful man! I knew you couldn't be trusted!"

Keitaro meanwhile, reasoned out, "Now hold on a moment, don't jump to conclusions…"

"What is there to conclude? You are a man hitting on innocent women for your games. Urashima, how dare you do this!" She yelled grabbing her wooden sword from her back, Keitaro meanwhile, gave a sigh and said,

"Motoko, I'm warning you, when you faced me back then, I was only subduing you. I'm sure Naru told you the story of what happened yesterday, right?" Keitaro warned, but Motoko clearly did not listen.

"Silence! I do not care if you had fought all of those men, they were weak, and as such, you too, shall fall to the blade of the Aoyama!"

Keitaro just shook his head and put his hands in his pockets.

"I'm not dealing with this…" Said Keitaro as he turned his back from Motoko, who was enraged, the girl, in anger, swiped her sword down at Keitaro, who disappeared from her view, and reappeared on top, in the middle of a summersault, his hands still in his pockets.

"Don't use your full body as the weight and strength of the sword, you're wasting too much energy."

Keitaro merely turned his back around and casually walked away,

"Hiatani, Shirai…"

Both males shuddered at the coldness of Keitaro's voice, Keitaro turned around and said to them, "Good luck with your results, I think I'll be going home."

Both of them nodded, Motoko was then asked by one of her followers, "Who was that, Aoyama-sama?"

Motoko simply answered, "Urashima Keitaro."

With that, he went for his motorcycle and fired it up, leaving behind Motoko, her friends and Keitaro's friends,

"Wow, never knew Urashima had a wicked looking Motorcycle." Said Hiatani, Shirai just nodded,

"I never knew he could do those stuff before, wasn't he supposed to be clumsy and reclusive?" Asked Shirai, Hiatani just shrugged.

"Had to admit though… What happened to him?" Asked Hiatani, was it the effect of college? Probably… Keitaro was quiet about his life, now that the results were in, they had nothing to do at the moment except enjoy life for the next few days, which ultimately, led the two men to one decision, find out who Keitaro Urashima really is…

To be continued…

* * *

Whew, after months of review and taking my board exams, I finally updated, sorry about not updating this but I really needed the time to study, and the breaks that I had received weren't much of breaks as it was me, reading some four inch thick textbook, man I do hope to pass, I need this to get to a proper med school… Oh well… Might as well do more chapters…


	4. Don't Have a Problem with That, Right?

Chapter Four: Don't Have a Problem with That, Right?

In a matter of days, Motoko's curiosity over the new manager of the inn grew, someone of her Aneue's calibre in fighting merely showed no disposition that he was a martial artist, let alone of master level.

She didn't know why, but when Keitaro had countered the flow of ki of her attack back then, something struck her,

Keitaro was on a level that was far greater than her seemingly on a whole other mountain, along with her sister, and he dared not to use his skills more than what was necessary, for Motoko, that was an insult to all martial artists everywhere. What was the use of strength if one cannot use it most of the time? Such attitude towards the art of combat would rust and wear down the practitioner eventually dulling his skills!

No matter what, she saw Keitaro as possibly her antithesis, his will not to fight, but his resolve if worse comes to worse, for her, words do not matter, let actions speak for themselves. It was the right thing, after all, might equals right!

As she descended down the stairs to the teashop, she saw Keitaro tuning up his motorcycle, checking for any damage after the stunt he pulled in taking Naru to school.

The young Todai student quickly noticed this and glanced up at the young woman who was watching him in apathy, yet with a hint of curiosity,

Keitaro gave her a simple grin and asked, "Yo, going to school?"

Motoko had simply scoffed and said, "Is it not obvious? What about you, Karinrin-san? Is it not a school day?"

Keitaro scratched the back of his head and said, "Well, no, I've got no classes today, the university contacted me earlier this morning, apparently, they said that the professor was not there for the rest of the day, said he got the flu… Anyway, I was just about to take this baby…"

Keitaro pointed to his bike and then continued, "For a test run, the inspection's done and the engine roaring great, maybe I could take you to your school and not spend the money on train fare."

Motoko merely turned her head and another scoff, "Hmph, a man taking a woman to her destination, I would rather die than seeing it happen, especially from you."

Keitaro scratched the back of his head from wonder, "Someone's a little cheesed off today."

Motoko angrily replied, "No! I meant that I simply don't want to depend on men. It is revolting!"

Just then, a limousine had arrived at the side of the teahouse, and out came, the same man wearing the sunglasses and was crying at the side of the dorm that day

"Takezo… What the hell are you doing here!?" Keitaro asked, the man simply replied,

"I am sorry, Keitaro-sama, they said that you need to come to your office now, they want to talk about the new proposition that your grandmother left." Said Takezo, Keitaro simply said, "Oh… Well then, okay, but could we go and drop her off to school on the way? I'll just clean up and we'll get this over with."

Motoko had began to protest then and there, "I never agreed to such a thing! How dare you…"

"Bah, I need to go to the company right now, so I'm sure this won't bother you at all." Keitaro simply replied

"But- limo- found- out…" Motoko was at a loss for words right now.

Keitaro simply said, "Ah, c'mon, it isn't that bad, and you could save up money later on to buy something nice."

"I-I don't need your advice!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, you're going to ride that limo, like it or not, and that's my say so!"

With that, Keitaro went inside the teashop to wash up and change his attire.

Once he had come out, Keitaro was wearing a navy blue suit and black leather shoes with a white long sleeve shirt underneath, a red necktie supporting his attire and his ever spiky hair, once he entered the limo, he was greeted by an irate looking Motoko.

"I hope you understand that I am angry at you right now!" Motoko said and Keitaro merely said,

"Geez, I'm only thinking of your interest and then you spat at it like a redneck. Why are you so adamant about it?"

Motoko looked at Keitaro straight in the eye and said, "Because I hate men!"

Keitaro had a hit his palm with the distal part of his hand, "Ah, so you're a lesbian… No wonder you like living in the dor"

"Finish that sentence and I will kill you." Said Motoko, meanwhile, at the front Keitaro's men were laughing hard,

"Bozu is still clueless." Said the one on the driver's seat, Takezo meanwhile, laughed harder, the boss was clearly a helpless case when it came to women

Inside:

"Okay, okay, geez, so you have an irrational hate for men, don't see why you lash out at me all the time…" Said Keitaro mumbling if he did something wrong

Motoko calmed down a little and said, "This limo would cause a huge scandal when I go to school, I have to remind you that I have an image to uphold."

Keitaro then said, "Then I'll drop you off at the side of the school. Geez, I don't know why people need to satisfy others just like that, after all, as long as we function well in society then it's all right, identity is the biggest thing to have, but image is like money, you can't take it with you once you die."

Motoko merely stayed quiet at that statement as she was dropped off at the side of her school, careful not to cause a scandal.

Keitaro adjusted the knot on his necktie and went gave a huge sigh

"Tough handling a bunch of teenagers?" Takezo asked, Keitaro meanwhile got some water from the small fridge to the side and drank it.

"No, it's tough handling a bunch of immature brats. I swear, those women would be the death of me!"

Takezo merely said, "Keitaro-sama, you act as if you're forty."

"I can't help it, those women don't know a single thing about jurisprudence and the like. They're all fucking romanticists and idealists that think that the world should revolve around them!"

Takezo nodded, "In that case, might I suggest an eviction, bozu?"

Keitaro shook his head, "No, I'm not a heartless bastard, even though they act the way they are, they have harsh pasts that they want to escape. I may have some sort of distaste towards them, but I am not willing to send someone like Shinobu back to a home where her dad is an abusive father and her mom is submissive, there's no one to watch over the kid, Haruka gave me the complete profiles of each person there."

Takezo merely gave a small smile to his bozu, "As expected of Oyabun."

Keitaro just shrugged, as the limousine stopped at the front building, Keitaro got out and went to the office that he had not used since two years. His grandmother had used it for him until he was ready, now that Hina was touring the world with his sister, she thought that Keitaro was ready for the real deal, his grandmother had started training him about executive work a year ago, surprisingly, Keitaro took her lessons in management well, and having an economic advisor was a big help.

Once he got to his office, he adjusted his necktie and entered his office, he was greeted by his secretary,

"Good morning, Keitaro-sama, the board of directors are waiting for you."

The secretary with a petite face and a cute smile bowed and Keitaro said, "Thanks… Ikuko, right? Where are the files that I need?" Asked Keitaro and the said secretary handed to him over a folder

"Thanks." Was all Keitaro said as he made a beeline inside the board of director's meeting room, once he was inside, he was met with an empty room, and four monitors dropped down and the monitors turned on, all the while, Keitaro thought in amusement, _'Ah, the wonders of modern technology, good thing Granny helped me set up this little room.'_

Four faces then appeared from the screen and Keitaro gave a fake smile,

"Good Morning ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, I will now be handling things for the meantime until my grandmother gets back from her trip, now, I want to discuss to all of you about the project proposal of expanding our hotel into the international market, starting with building a hotel within the vicinity of one of the most frequently toured beaches and is in near vicinity of our country."

Said Keitaro, as he flipped the folders and placed them on his desk, he then grabbed a removable disk drive and inserted it to the USB port on his table,

"Attached to the file, are the pictures of the sight and whom we would be cooperating with, my grandmother has already talked to the governing bodies in the Philippines when she went out of the country, I am sure you all know of this project proposal, it's on a grand scale that we have never seen in this company. Ever heard of the beach in Palawan called El Nido? If we can set up a five star hotel there, many high profile guests would surely flock to it like bees on honey."

"I refuse." Said one of the members, Keitaro raised an eyebrow at this and inquired, "Tell me Sadoyuki-san, why do you refuse this project proposal?"

The man on his far left monitor replied, "This is such a high stakes gamble, if the project fails, we will lose MILLIONS, and we are not speaking in terms of Yen!"

"While that is true Sadoyuki-san, the project still stands, we have enough reserves for us not to go bankrupt for the next four years, if we lost in this gamble, then we shall simply NOT do anymore international expansions. But if it did, can you look at the possibilities of building in another first world country such as say, Switzerland? Germany? France?"

To this the members seemed to think this through, Keitaro then stood up and said, "Urashima Zaibatsu started as a small company, and this company who had but a few staff back in Hinata city, had enough power to take over Renge Zaibatsu, that was a big gamble that paid off."

Keitaro said, "I meant that to take such a huge risk is one of the possibilities that any company has to decide in any given time, like many scenarios, this is a make or break decision, we can't always remain stagnant, 'we have to up the ante' as they say."

Eight Hours Later:

Keitaro left the office and went home, deciding that a limousine was too much for him, he took the train back to Hinata Inn, once he reached the place, he quickly went to his room and shook his necktie loose,

"Damn, I'm exhausted… But there's still a lot of work to be done, I need to check my list for the maintenance of this place."

First up, was cleaning the Onsen,

Once Keitaro had arrived at the onsen, he put a sign on the front door that read, 'under maintenance, do not enter!'

He looked around and cringed at the picture of the place,

"This place was the crown jewel of the Inn back then, now there are potholes everywhere, missing tiles and the bonsai near the hot spring itself is a mess." Keitaro sighed he was glad he had brought the shears with him and a few elastic cement to place on the pot holes, he had no idea what to do for the missing tiles at the moment, so fixing potholes and the bonsai trim would be his first priority. After that, he would clean the place.

Unbeknownst to the Urashima, five people had ignored the clear sign that was posted outside and Keitaro glanced back, he saw five women, who wore nothing more than their towels wrapped around them.

"You idiots didn't read the sign outside did you?" Keitaro deadpanned, and the focus of the women went to Keitaro who was looking at them with an annoyed face, sure back in the recesses of his mind, he rather enjoyed what was coming to him, but if it meant that the blame would be shifted to him…

"You goddamn pervert!"

Yep, he got annoyed.

Naru, out of instinct, swung her arm and tried to punch Keitaro in the face. Keitaro leaned back and letting the fist pass him for a moment, with an effortless look,

"If you're going to punch me, punch me with a little amount of push and extend your arm faster." Said Keitaro as he simply sidestepped Naru and simply tipped her into the hot springs, the said girl lost her balance and fell into the hot water and Keitaro walked away. Next that came at him was Motoko who suddenly had her sword with her, she came from below and slashed upwards only to see nothing but an afterimage.

"Surprised?" Keitaro asked as he was holding the tip of the blade his fingers. Motoko tried to yank the blade but found it hard to do so

"Anger clouds judgement, prejudice leads to hatred my dear." Said Keitaro disarming Motoko by flipping the sword away and landing the hilt in his other hand.

He then looked stern and said to them, "I specifically placed a sign there for all others to read, unfortunately, it seems that you girls like to ignore reading the said sign and just jump into the hot springs, did you not see the big white sign with the black letters that said, 'Under Maintenance, Do Not Enter!'?"

Kitsune had sheepishly scratched the back of her head and laughed lightly, Keitaro glanced at her and said, "Let me guess, before any of the women entered, you removed the sign."

Kitsune had the urge to nod slowly, Keitaro then said, "You're lucky I do not hit women, and that I convinced most of my men to not fucking come into the dorm or else they could have a, gunned you down and have more holes than Swiss Cheese, or b, tackle you all to the ground and have tazers jammed in your necks."

Kitsune gulped, of course she would be scared, Keitaro was a Soban after all.

"Listen and listen well, the damages to the dorm are quite apparent, I can fix them, but I can't maintain them every time. Since I am the Karinrin, I've decided to split the chores that regard this house, I can't pamper young adults like you, you all need to learn how to live." Keitaro then pointed a finger at Kitsune

"You, Kitsune, starting next week, you're going to have pay me the six month debt you owe Granny Hina, the payment would be for the maintenance of the dorms. Aoyama," He said looking at the woman who was frowning at him, "I am confiscating this sword for the moment, I have a bokken as a substitute for you, you aren't worthy of holding the blade yet."

"WHAT!?"

Keitaro sighed, he had hoped for Motoko to understand why he didn't want the woman to wield a katana, "Your actions caused you to judge before seeing the situation, tell me, is that what someone like say, Uesugi Kenshin or Takeda Shingen would do in battle?"

Motoko frowned at that, "I stand by my actions."

Keitaro merely shook his head,

"Motoko, there is a line between Justice and undeserving punishment. I should know, I felt that back then too."

Keitaro looked down, remembering his time as a delinquent back then, "Did you know… When my friend Seta died, the one who did it, Mori got away with a not-guilty plea on his first trial?"

_Flashback:_

_Rain, it never rained that much before in Keitaro's life, as the coffin of his friend Seta was then placed to its resting place. There was one thing that littered Keitaro's mind back then, it was to get revenge._

_As Seta was being buried, his fists were shaking as he was crying, his grandmother holding his child's hand as they watched Seta's coffin being covered in soil, Keitaro kneeled down and wept harder_

"_It's my fault!" Keitaro shouted, as he punched the ground that he stood on, hard._

"_Damn it! It's my fault why he died! I was careless! I didn't move in fast enough to avoid the gun from firing!" Keitaro said as he began to pound the ground with his fists, his grandmother embracing him_

"_There, there child, it is only but the fault of your enemy, Seta-kun did the most honourable thing in protecting his friend." Hina looked on as the parents of Seta began to weep as well, the father of the said child couldn't even look straight at the grave_

"_That is the greatest sacrifice that one can give. It is to live for others. Keitaro-chan, treasure your life, never doubt that for one moment, Seta gave his to protect yours." Said Hina, Keitaro could only cry louder, as the guilt began to rise in him and his helplessness in the situation… _

_As he looked on at the grave, he could see a motorcycle at the back of the grave it was too far for the others to notice, but the man removed his helmet with the help of the one on the steering wheel and Keitaro quickly noticed it was Mori._

_Mori was grinning from ear to ear, Keitaro with his sight, was surprised for a moment, all seemed to quiet just then, as Keitaro looked at Mori in the eye, wearing that disgusting grin on his face._

_All of a sudden, Keitaro grew angry, letting his feelings cloud him at that moment, he saw Mori put on his helmet and left, Keitaro felt his ki began pulse loudly, Hina immediately felt it._

"_Mori… Will pay… He will pay!" Said Keitaro. Gritting his teeth and blood came flowing out as he bit his lower lip_

_Hina had chastised him by gripping his shoulder tightly, "Do not waste your life on petty revenge Keitaro-chan. It will only leave you with a sadness greater than the death of your friend."_

"_Then what can I do!? I can't just let Mori get away with this!"_

_Keitaro then stood up, Hina then said, "Leave it to me child."_

_A few weeks later, he had heard that an arrest warrant for Mori was made, he was captured that very same day, and a few weeks later, Mori had pleaded not guilty despite the incriminating evidence that had been presented and the two of the eyewitness accounts happened to be Keitaro and Tatsu themselves.__ Mori's family had a certain sway in the case, so Mori was set free of the charges._

_It would only take a month for Keitaro to discover that the one responsible that held the court's sway was Mori's father, who was the head of Renge Zaibatsu and was also head of the Yakuza as well. Mori's father threatened the judge for a not guilty plea in exchange for the man's wife and kids. Needless to say, the judge had to agree._

_Keitaro came to his grandmother the day that he found out and requested another month of special training, with anger in his eyes, Keitaro said to his grandmother,_

"_Granny, I want you to train me, run me to the ground, I'll train and train until I become unbeatable, I'll be so unbeatable that even the Yakuza will fear me." He said, his eyes showed their resolve, Hina had merely shook her head, and said to her favourite grandson,_

"_Why are you seeking strength Keitaro-chan?"_

_Keitaro looked at her grandmother in the eye with a steely gaze and said, "Because I want justice."_

_Hina paused for a moment, in a matter of days, Keitaro grew up, that gentle demeanour was reduced, it was there, but it wasn't noticeable anymore. Hina had become sad how much the events that had played out and made Keitaro grow up, with a mere nod, the aging woman said to her grandson,_

"_Okay… But let me remind you grandson, there is a fine line between justice and vengeance. Keitaro-chan, when you are pulled into the world of fighting, you cannot stop, you WILL not stop, the best way to live in peace in that world is to die or to fade back to nothing. Are you sure about this?"_

_Keitaro knew of his resolve then, he nodded to the old woman and Granny Hina turned her head and shouted, "Haruka, prepare the umbrellas and the pins, I'll get the ball and chain."_

_And Keitaro trained for a month, he disappeared from his school that day, giving a notice of absence to his homeroom, and saying that he'll be back after two months._

_Tatsu was forced to go to another country because his pare__nts feared for the safety of their son, many thought that Keitaro went into hiding and that he would not be back within the designated two months,_

_After his one month training in Hinata, Keitaro had arrived at Renge Zaibatsu, wearing a black suit and a red necktie, he adjusted his sunglasses, looking to settle the score with the people who did the injustice on Seta, once he was inside the building he was greeted by the receptionist, and asked if he had an appointment with anyone within the building, he told the receptionist he was Kikawa Shingetsu's guest. Once he had gotten the floor of the man's office, he went up without even bothering to give the receptionist his name. Once he had reached the top, he was greeted by countless men that wore suits with their pinkie fingers either cut off or didn't have a nail, one person came to approach him,_

"_Do you have a meeting with the bozu?" Asked one of the members as he was effectively decked in the face by Keitaro and the man flew out to the nearest wall, as and one after another, the men came at him, with knives, tanto and even guns._

_Keitaro simply stood and then in a blur, he appeared to the other end, the men that were trying to take down Keitaro, were blown away in a flash, but Keitaro didn't stop there, grabbing one of the fallen member's leg, Keitaro swung him around like a rag doll and then tossed the man straight to the office door, ramming the door open, inside was a very scared looking Kikawa Shingetsu, the man with a scar over his right eye was shaking to his feet, Keitaro then ducked as one of the persistent men, swiped a dagger horizontally at him, he countered by elbowing the man in the gut and then shoving the man to the window, making a crack as his head stuck out on the window and the man was kneeling , he was lucky that the window was small, the panoramic view below was blocked by cement underneath the glass,_

"_W-WHO ARE YOU!?" Shingetsu said, as he began step back and fell down on his butt_

"_Why Shingetsu, you don't remember me? I was one of the witnesses that testified against your son back then, the son that shot Toujiro Seta in the chest and killed, I'm here… To find Mori and to deliver the justice that Seta rightfully deserved." Keitaro said, Shingetsu frantically pushed himself back,_

"_U-Urashima!?" Shingetsu asked as he was now shivering_

"_Yes, and I'm here on Seta's behalf to track down your lowlife son and beat him down like the scum that he is." Keitaro said with contempt, as he kneeled down, and faced Shingetsu eye to eye_

"_I'm also here, to beat you down to the ground, pound you till you're at an inch of your life, make you feel just how miserable and helpless you are as Seta's parents were when they found out that the killer that I saw with my own eyes was not guilty of the charges that were incriminating enough to send him to prison for life, and also…"He said as he punched the window next to Shingetsu that shattered like dust with a simple blow_

"_For threatening an innocent woman and child just to sway your game..."_

_By now, Shingetsu found his voice and shouted, "D-Don't fuck around with me!"_

"_I am Kikawa Shingetsu, Yakuza Soban! Ruler of the underground world of Japan! You think that your petty threats will amount to anything? Right now my men are going up the floors as we speak, all with guns powerful enough to turn you into a human sponge!"_

_Keitaro did not show fear._

"_Unlike your fucking threats, I've got the real fucking deal! You're just an insignificant pest on my doorstep, and once that door opens, I'll be laughing at your fucking carcass as I watch you dance from the fucking hail of bullets!"_

_Keitaro deadpanned him, "You done already?"_

_With that, he grabbed Shingetsu from the collar and hoisted the man up, with a pair of knives hidden in his suit, he impaled the man's hands and feet on the wall_

"_GUUUAAAHHH!"_

_Shingetsu yelled, Keitaro then punched Shingetsu in the face._

"_Watch me thrash your men on this wall and you'll see just how fucking serious I am about beating you and your worthless son at an inch of your life."_

_With that, the elevator door opened and the men pointed their guns at Keitaro, Keitaro simply dashed to towards the man in a frightening blur. He appeared in the middle as he quickly kicked the man in the middle to the chin planting his face on the elevator roof, Keitaro then grabbed enveloped his body in ki as he expanded it in a small field around him, with one gun invading the field, Keitaro's body was quick to react and disarmed the man, throwing the gun away he planted a fist on the man's underarm, shocking the man's nerves and temporarily paralyzing him._

_Keitaro then gave a sweeping kick in a flash effectively putting some of the men down, disarming one of the men, Keitaro then grabbed a .45 calibre pistol and fired it on the on of the man's legs, the bullet pierced the man's leg and the man cried in pain, Keitaro then punched the man in the face and then disarmed another by pressing the pulse of the man's arm tightly, the man instinctively let go of his gun, Keitaro grabbed another .45 calibre pistol and then fired with his other hand, Keitaro began firing the guns, hitting the armed men on the legs and hands, once the bullets were empty, with countless men groaning on the ground, he looked back to the man pinned on the wall,_

"_Now that your power is gone, I'll be getting what I need to know about Mori."_

_With that, he closed the door of the office, the frightened face of Shingetsu was the last thing to be seen before the door finally closed._

_Flashback ended:_

"During that time, I had managed to almost kill someone, I hated Shingetsu with a passion, when granny heard what I did, she immediately went to the company and announced that the Urashima family will be taking over the Renge Zaibatsu, and that all of the people inside that building would be kept silent on what happened, a few phone calls later, everything was swept under the rug." Said Keitaro and then went out, before he closed the door he said,

"I regret that I almost killed someone that day, although it was the very man that let Mori escape the law, I can't even look at myself like I used to. When blood is dripped in your hands, you are forever changed."

Keitaro steeled his resolve, memories of his past were beginning to surface, he had to maintain a strong and stern look, he then said to his tenants, "I'll be making a maintenance schedule of the work here in Hinata-Sou, I will not be responsible for your everyday mundane chores, as I am the manager, all repair and budgets should be referred to me, and I give clearance to the needed budget."

"Don't worry, I'm giving a fare share of the work to be done, since Shinobu is doing laundry and cooking, I'll reduce some of her work by making us do our own laundry. I'll be buying laundry baskets tomorrow and all of you, enjoy your next few days, since this is now a dormitory, it should be treated as such."

With that, Keitaro left.

Naru was fuming, "Ooh! Who does that man think he is? He's barely older than me!"

Kitsune chuckled slightly and sat down on the hot springs, "He may be, but he certainly knows how to act like an adult."

Su nodded, "Yep! Karinrin-san acts like Dad! But he sometimes acts like Onii-chan!"

To this the residents turned to her, "Yeah, he acts like my dad, giving advices and then showing some tough love. Like what he did with Naru and Motoko on the first day."

The women except for Motoko and Naru nodded.

"Sempai has seen the harsh realities of life, like the rest of us, yet compared to him, he didn't run away." Said Shinobu, looking down

Motoko however, when she sat down on the hot springs, was irked, "A man like him who travels the path of a monk can never understand the one who travels the path of a warrior!"

Kitsune smiled at this, "If your views about this clash, why not settle this in a match of mettle?"

Motoko considered Kitsune's proposal, after all, ideals are better fought if one cannot express and fight for their ideals, then they are not warriors. She isn't willing to bow to any man, especially not now, even if Keitaro is another mountain altogether, Motoko realized that she still must face any adversity. Fighting Keitaro would mean fighting his sister. Even though she considered Keitaro a dishonourable man and a waste to society due to his delinquency, he was strong. Strong enough to have an even match against her sister.

"I'll think about it…" She said to the group and the rest relaxed and enjoyed the hot bath of the natural outdoor spring.

A few days later:

Shinobu was cooking in the humble kitchen of the Hinata Inn, and as per orders of the manager, she felt a little relaxed when she didn't have to do much housework anymore, everyone had their fair share of chores to do now, she no longer had to do everyone's laundry, honestly, she was embarrassed at first that the thought of Keitaro giving her his laundry but found out that the industrious manager of the inn did his own laundry and iron his own clothes. He says that it was better that way and not bothersome or embarrassing to Shinobu who was scarlet red when Keitaro said that everyone should at least wash their own underwear.

She was a bit happy though, that the inn was alive and well. Ever since Keitaro had set foot into the dormitory, a lot of the chaos that Naru ever managed to throw at the lone male were wither heightened with Keitaro's near effortless and indifferent view on handling things. There was one time he dodged a punch from Naru while holding a bowl of ramen to his face. Keitaro merely ducked out of the way and tossed the ramen into the air, not even looking Naru in the eye, Keitaro caught the bowl with a single hand and all of its ingredients in it, no spill.

Once she was done chopping with the onions, she had heard a knock on the door, being that she was the nearest, she decided that she was to answer it, not until Naru had beat her first. As soon as she was about to head back to the kitchen, a voice, a tone of low tenor entered her hearing, that voice was all she could hear, when she felt her hand shake and run to her room to lock the door. Fear escaping from her body as tears began to fall from her eyes, all the nights that she had run away from was coming back to her, the bruises the cuts, the burns and the lacerations of both hers and her mother's… It was coming back…

"Is Maehara Shinobu here?" Asked the person upfront, Naru looked at the man suspiciously and asked,

"Who are you, sir?"

Naru didn't want to sound rude to the man that was bulking, Naru was intimidated by the man wearing the summer buttoned shirt and white pants, tan skin, a gold necklace hanged on his neck and a few piercings stuck out on his ear and left eyebrow.

"I heard she's living here, I came to take her back." Was his only reply

"You didn't answer my question first sir, who are you?" Asked Naru and was soon shoved to the side, by a mere push from the man, as soon as he entered the house, Naru shouted, "You can't enter an all girls' dormitory without permission!"

The man swatted her away and said, "I do what I damn well please! Now where's my daughter!? Where's Shinobu!?"

As soon as Naru was shoved, the man quickly turned his back and began scouring the Inn. Making a scene inside the house, the man ran around the house opening each door that he encountered and angrily slamming it back when Shinobu wasn't there.

The man ran upstairs while shouting Shinobu's name,

"Shinobu! Let's go home! Back to where mommy is! Daddy misses you so much!" Said the man

On the manager's room, Keitaro had closed his book on hydraulics, and settled it down the table, he stood up and went outside, unnoticed by the man as he had finally reached Shinobu's room.

It was locked. Keitaro watched as the man desperately tried to get into Shinobu's room, finally slamming it down with his own strength. Upon entering the room of the poor girl, the man gave a smile as he saw his precious daughter.

There she was huddled into a corner, her hands covering her head as she was shaking in fear, tears forming in her eyes as she saw the one she called a father.

That smile… It was one thing that scared her most about his father, that smile was always of something indicative of pain. As he approached his daughter, Shinobi started to crawl away from him, Keitaro was frowning while this was happening, he dared not to interfere with a parent finding his daughter, but he couldn't do anything about it, he was an outsider.

Shinobu felt her voice shake as she shouted to the man, "D-don't come closer!"

The man's face changed from a smiling Buddha to a menacing Asura as he grabbed Shinobu by the arm and held it tightly,

"Now Shinobu, it's not nice to push daddy away!"

The man cocked his fist back, and in one fluid motion, he was stopped when Keitaro held back the man's fist firm with his grip

"Familial problems normally aren't my concern but…" Keitaro tightened the grip

"No parent has the right to hit their own child, much less one that can't even speak or fight back because of fear."

Unbeknownst to them, Kitsune and Su had managed to peek into the scenario unfolding,

Shinobu's father then said, "This is discipline! Don't you dare stop me from showing my wayward daughter some tough love! It's for her own good!"

With that, the man released Shinobu's arm with his other hand and punched Keitaro in the face, Keitaro didn't even flinch move to evade, for he had only one thing in mind; to save both Shinobu and himself from this man. If he was forced to evade, the man would've been able to file a case of assault against him, but if he had even one piece of evidence from the man, Keitaro would be off the hook.

The punch connected to his left cheek and blood seemed to come out of Keitaro's mouth, with the boy hitting Shinobu's wall tearing of the skin on Keitaro's right temple. Blood oozed from it, as Keitaro didn't force himself to fight back. The man grinned as he held Keitaro by the collar and pushed him against the wall, with cocking another fist he punched the boy to his right cheek and kneed him in the gut. The man pummelled Keitaro to the floor of Shinobu's room. Flashbacks of the beatings of when she was a child crossed her mind, in the middle of her sobs, she muttered

"It's e-enough… S-stop… Don't let him hit yourself anymore… Sempai!"

It was enough to let Kitsune tell the very nervous Su to let Naru call on Motoko. If Keitaro let himself get hit, it meant that Keitaro was simply avoiding a tarnish in the inn's name…

Once the man could determine that Keitaro couldn't possibly fight back, Shinobu's father turned around and faced his daughter,

"Now, time for some discipline!" Said the man, cracking his knuckles and grabbed Shinobu's hair, yanking her up, Shinobu winced in pain and sobbed, she was being dragged back to her personal hell courtesy of his bastard she called her father.

This was it… The pain was coming back, those nights where she and her mother got beat up constantly, she didn't think Keitaro would allow himself to get hit.

As her bastard father cocked his left fist back…

Only to scream in pain as his left arm was covered in pain…

With Naru:

Naru had to get Motoko… A man had forced himself inside the dormitories! Not only that he was violent and had even pummelled Keitaro to mush! She had only one other option, Motoko!

Once she had made her way to Motoko's common training spot, she shouted,

"Motoko! Quick! I need your help! Shinobu's dad came and is about to beat up poor Shinobu!"

Motoko suddenly grew tense as she held her bokken at her side, it would have to do, her Ki attacks were enough to cut through wood, and this would surely be enough.

As she ran back to the dorms, she asked Naru

"What happened to Urashima?"

Naru merely said, "He let himself beat up, I bet he was worried he would be charged with assault."

Motoko clenched her teeth and thought angrily, _'Men are useless!'_

With Shinobu:

The man yelled in pain, as he let go of Shinobu's hair and the girl landed on her bed with a flop. Her father cradled his left arm and turned around, he found Keitaro, who was bleeding from his forehead and mouth, looking at him with eyes of intensity.

It was like watching a fire that was forcing itself out of a container, though the oxygen that fed that fire was fading, the fire itself was forcing out, finding a way to burst out causing an enormous explosion inside the boy.

Keitaro gave wicked grin, he looked at Shinobu's father in the eye and said, "Now that I got away with a few bruises and cuts, you can't touch me now… With this, you got no complaints of me hitting you back."

Keitaro then grabbed the man's hair and said, "You know… I really hate people like you."

Keitaro continued, "You, who step on other people's dignity, without so much as a remorse and to do that to your own family as well…"

Venom laced in Keitaro's voice, how he loathed the man that was before him. Someone who beat up a little girl, to get his point across, using the stick for his arguments, Keitaro spat on the ground that the man worked on.

"Since you gave me quite a thrashing, I'd like to return the favour, SINCE IT'S MY DUTY TO PROTECT MY TENANTS FROM IMMATURE PARENTS LIKE YOU!"

With that, Keitaro cocked his fist back and said, "You don't have problems with that, right?"

With that, he threw his punch on to the man's face and letting go his hair, Shinobu's wall shattered from the force of the punch that shattered teeth, throwing the muscle man through the window and landing on the lawn below the house.

Outside, Motoko halted her run seeing the muscle bound male landing on the grass. Keitaro jumped on the window as he pointed a thumb to himself.

"Get this through your head. Until you treat your Shinobu like the daughter she is to you, I got every right to shove your ass out of the dorm I manage! I'll make it clear to you; the Asura does not bring mercy to those that bring harm to his friends. Get lost!"

With that, the man stood up in contempt and walked away… Not even glancing at the frowning Motoko all the while, Keitaro began wiping the blood from his forehead, his white t-shirt stained with the blood from his forehead and mouth.

With that, he went inside and gave a relieving sigh, he walked to Shinobu who was still crying and ruffled her head, giving it a little massage to ease the frightened girl.

"It's okay now… Shinobu-chan…" Said Keitaro grinning at the girl and affectionately ruffled her hair more.

"I'll be here to make sure he's straightened out." Keitaro said and Shinobu, in a moment of utter weakness, cried on Keitaro's chest, letting all her emotions out… Just for that moment…

After that little incident, Keitaro decided to let Shinobu rest from her duties for the moment.

Now sporting a bandage like a crown, a gauze on his left cheek and a black eye, Keitaro had no choice but to reach for the funds of the inn and ordered take-out.

When the tenants, minus Shinobu, sat down at the dinner table, Motoko looked at Keitaro in the eye as they ate and said,

"I want to challenge you to a duel…"

Keitaro stopped eating his cheeseburger for a moment and looked Motoko in a serious gaze.

"What are you implying?"

Motoko replied, "I want to challenge you on the right of ownership to this inn as well as release of my sword, Shishi-oh."

Keitaro stood up from his seat and slammed his palm on the table suddenly, scaring Kitsune and Naru for a moment.

"You got guts challenging me to a match… To top it off, you want to take the possession of this inn and transfer it to the Aoyama family? Why Motoko, if I didn't know better, it's as if you are challenging me in a Sengoku (Warring States) era style duel…"

His expression changed in that of a frightful demon, he continued, "A deathmatch…"

Motoko had forgotten about that type of duel for a moment, Naru and Kitsune paled while Su innocently asked if a deathmatch was something good to eat.

It never crossed her mind before, when she trained later that day, she was sure that she would lose, but right now, she had to reclaim her honour, for her sword was her honor, and let someone be damned, a warrior must not be separated from her blade!

But Keitaro seemed to think differently, "A weapon exists to kill Motoko, didn't your school taught you that?"

Motoko stood up in her own fury and said to the manager, "A weapon exists to protect! You, who tread the path of a monk, will never understand the dishonour you have given me by separating me from my sword, Shishi-oh!"

"And you don't understand that I am trying to prevent you from doing a fatal mistake!" Keitaro now emphasized.

"Don't you see Motoko? Do you even feel regret when you use your techniques so brazenly upon an unarmed man? Is the thought of actually almost killing someone not crossing your mind as you use your Special Techniques? Motoko, I am not dishonouring you, I'm teaching you to be responsible in using a blade!"

"I do not need an advice from a man that does not even try to prove his might to others!"

Keitaro gaze sharpened and literally, he slapped Motoko on her cheek

"You fucking idiot! Wake up, Motoko! Has your school taught you nothing of prudence!? You willingly use your techniques on civilians! With almost devastating results no less! How much more techniques must you use, in order to get my point across!?"

"There is no point to be given to me! You are being irrational, that I, a swordswoman, must not wield a sword because I am not responsible enough? Preposterous! What of the council of elders entrusting me with it then!?"

Keitaro then clenched his fist together, he guessed there was no choice but to let Motoko do as she wishes. He then said to her, "Fine, but as stipulation, you get a portion of Naru's, Kitsune's, Su's and Shinobu's work around the house if you lose. You'll also be treating me to beef bowls once a week for two months when I am here, preferably Saturdays!"

'_No much of a bet is there? Though I could use the break from Haruka's slave driving, I swear she's enjoys making me suffer.'_

Down at the teashop below, a woman sneezed causing her cigarette to fall off from her mouth.

"You will see just how much I have improved…" She answered as she was about to leave the remaining food.

Keitaro just turned his back and was about to walk outside when he said to Motoko, "You won't even be able to see Hiryu, Ama Tsurugi no Kakeru (Rising Dragon, Descent of the Heavenly Blade.)"

With that, he went out into the night…

To be continued…

* * *

Next chapter title: Duel

Phew… Now that's done, let me tell you a little something-interesting on this chapter…

In this chapter is a scene similar to GTO (or should I say from its latest spinoff), if any of you can find it, you get a cookie! RnR people! No, really!


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